Imagine not being able to enjoy Joel Embiid’s fantastic Game 5 performance in Boston.
Surely, Sixers fans have been emotionally fatigued after nearly a decade of not getting out of the second round with a slew of different roster iterations centered around Embiid. After last season’s debacle, many of them likely resigned to the team never again being able to seriously contend with Embiid as their best player.
But Tuesday night’s masterpiece from the former MVP should have reminded fans that while Embiid
might not be a league MVP ever again, he can still impact winning at a high level. It’s clear to anyone who watches Embiid that he doesn’t have the same burst and athletic ability to be the elite defender he once was. Additionally, it should come as no surprise that the 7.7 rebounds per game that Embiid averaged in the regular season were a career low.
However, for most of the game on Tuesday night, Embiid was doing whatever he wanted to do offensively. In a way, the fact that Embiid had 33 points on 0-of-5 from the three-point line should be even more encouraging for Sixers fans. Embiid did his damage offensively with his midrange jumper, bullying his way through whoever Boston attempted to have guard him and making his free throws. He might not be able to constantly bully his way through opposing bigs in the future, but he could certainly do that once or twice more in this series against Boston and he’s not going to shoot 0-for-5 from the three-point line with regularity either.
What we’re getting at here is that Embiid’s game is still versatile enough offensively to score 30+ points on any given night. If you have someone that talented offensively, then that’s someone that can help you win. The narrative around Embiid this season has shifted a bit too far in a pessimistic direction. All of a sudden, the focal point of Embiid conversations was about how much of a burden his max salary is for the next three seasons that he still has under contract after the current one. His play on the court was basically ignored by the masses just because he wasn’t the MVP candidate he used to be every season.
For both the rest of this series against the Celtics and for next season and beyond, Game 5 in Boston should serve as a reminder of what the Sixers can be with Embiid still playing a pivotal role. It hasn’t happened often for Embiid in his career, but the big man was both the best player on the floor on Tuesday night and he got adequate help from his teammates. Quentin Grimes was excellent off the bench. Paul George defended well and knocked down some shots. Tyrese Maxey helped compensate for Embiid’s rebounding struggles with 10 boards of his own. VJ Edgecombe hit a few open threes. Embiid’s eight assists were no fluke.
It was a team win by a team that has for years needed to win on Embiid’s individual talent more than it should have. Can the Sixers pull out two more of those wins against the Celtics? Well, they should certainly have a lot more confidence. They’ve now won twice in Boston, the first time coming without Embiid even playing. Philadelphia is far from the deepest roster in the NBA, but it does appear as if the non-Embiid players are doing enough to not require Embiid to be Superman every night.
Most of Philly’s role players can go to free agency this summer. It’s possible that the bench is a much different collection of talent on next year’s roster. We should also point out that Kelly Oubre played in 50 games in the regular season and started 41 of them and he too can go to free agency in July. But whether the Sixers bring a lot of this roster back or not next season, fans should feel optimistic that they can give Embiid enough help to at least be competitive and worth watching with Embiid still on the roster. In other words, don’t go into the offseason thinking, “What are we going to do about all the money we still owe to Embiid?!”
As for the rest of the series, just enjoy the fact that there couldn’t be a team still left in the NBA Playoffs with less to lose than the Sixers. No one expected Philly to win this series or even get to a Game 6 for that matter. In previous postseasons, fans have rightfully questioned the team’s effort. They bowed out in embarrassing fashion in Boston in 2023. They laid down in 2022 on their home floor against Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat. We all know how embarrassing the ending of the Atlanta series in 2021 was. Regardless of what happens here, we’ll be able to say that they went down fighting, and finally gave Joel Embiid some much-needed help.
