MANHATTAN, N.Y.–Philadelphia 76ers star big man Joel Embiid has been absolutely terrific all season long. He has thrown the Sixers on his back to ensure they remain successful despite the recent Ben Simmons saga and tons of injuries.
The big fella was averaging 29.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists before the All-Star break, and before the James Harden era, and he had the Sixers sitting at 35-23 and the No. 3 seed in the East. He was almost unstoppable on the floor as teams could not find a way to stop him and they had to settle for him just going off every night.
In Sunday’s 125-109 win over the New York Knicks, Embiid had 37 points, he shot 23-for-27 from the free-throw line, and he had nine rebounds. He fouled out both Knicks big men, Mitchell Robinson and Jericho Sims, and New York could not find an answer as they believe he is the MVP of the league.
“I should have known this from last time that he’s becoming more aggressive,” said Robinson. “This is an MVP here, so I should have been more focused and ready to play. He did what he needed to do, I should have just played better.”
Embiid entered the game averaging 11.3 attempts from the foul line per game so while the 27 free throws are still a huge number, it is still not too surprising when one considers who he is and what he does.
“That’s what Joel does, he’s an MVP in my book,” said Knicks guard Evan Fournier. “The thing is he’s so physical and so strong when he drives towards you. You literally have to get ready and load yourself to hit him back because he’s stronger than you, but on contact, he’s so good at drawing fouls. He’s an extremely tough cover. He’s a beast down there and he has great hands.”
Now that the Sixers have both Embiid and Harden, there will be a parade to the free-throw line. Harden shot 10 free throws of his own.
“Now they have James Harden, so the two best foul chargers in the league combined, so of course, we have to do a better job not fouling, but truth is these guys go to the line, it’s what they do,” Fournier added. “So it’s not easy and you have to make adjustments.”
This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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