PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers are in the midst of another season where they are serious contenders in the Eastern Conference. Led by reigning league MVP Joel Embiid, the Sixers are right there with the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks battling for supremacy in the Eastern Conference.
After Embiid dropped a franchise-record 70 points in a 133-123 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, the reigning league MVP is averaging 36.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.9 assists while shooting 53.9% from the floor. Those numbers are better than the MVP season as Embiid continues to get better, which is mind-boggling to fathom.
One has to wonder, though, if there is more pressure on coach Nick Nurse and the Sixers to seize the opportunity right now with the season the big fella is having.
“Listen, I think, for me, I go into every single season thinking that,” Nurse said after the win. “Like, the season needs to be seized. ‘We’ve got to figure out a way somehow to get through this thing and get to the top,’ right? Every single season of my, how many coaching years I’ve had? I just want to make sure we’re playing good basketball, making the right plays, continuing to get better.”
The Sixers, per usual, are going to have a puncher’s chance once the playoffs roll around. Embiid is staking his claim as the best player in the league, along with Nikola Jokic in Denver, and Philadelphia needs to continue to grow around him and develop everything they have to better help the big fella at this moment.
“I think we are getting a little better,” Nurse added. “I think we’re starting to read things a little bit better, but there’s still a long way to go. I want to clean up things as we keep seeing things and we’re going to see a lot more things now, which is great. I just want us to continue to get better, make the right reads.”
The Sixers need to continue on this path. They can’t stray from what has been working as the goal continues to be to get to the mountaintop.
“What I’m super happy with is I think we had 28 assists and four turnovers,” Nurse finished. “If you’re going to get a shot up almost every single possession in the game and not give away silly plays, silly passes, dribble off your feet, whatever have you — you’re going to have a really good chance to win games. That’s the kind of stuff I’m going to keep focusing on.”
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