https://theathletic.com/3139321/202...ga-and-mvp-talk-all-star-weekend-revelations/ On Joel, the “Joker” and an MVP conversation that needs recalibrating Joel Embiid has been awesome. Amazing. Transcendent. Dominant. Dynamic. Pick a superlative, and it likely fits. But it continues to seem as if the same isn’t being said about Nikola Jokic — at least not as often or as loudly. And while Sir Charles Barkley might have a point that Denver is whine country when it comes to the perceived lack of respect for Jokic, that doesn’t mean their complaints about how he’s discussed in the media are wrong. From this vantage point, the MVP race is led by the incumbent from Denver and the big man from Philly will need to have the strongest finish of them all if he’s going to win his first Maurice Podoloff trophy. Truth be told, I have two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo close in that top three as well. As for the rest of the voters, ESPN’s latest straw poll indicated that Embiid had a slight edge over Jokic (789 points to 754, with Antetokounmpo a distant third). This trend has been prevalent on the TNT set, with Embiid frequently discussed as the clear frontrunner. That appeared to be the unofficial consensus in Cleveland as well. For the record, Jokic continues to insist that he isn’t worried about any of this. “No, I think as long as a big man wins, I’m good,” he said with a smile when I asked about the perceived disrespect. I pressed a little more as he walked off the stage, to which he said, “I don’t care, man.” Fair enough, Joker. Fair enough. This isn’t an MVP column, so I won’t be doing a deep dive on all the candidates just yet. But here’s a quick glance at the lay of the land between Jokic and Embiid. The numbers Jokic • Averaging 26 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists in 52 games. No player in the history of the game has hit these marks, and only one other player — Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 — has ever hit 26, 11 and six. His true-shooting percentage of .653 is above his mark from last season of .647, and also better than Embiid’s (.606). As noted here by the folks at Synergy, he leads the league in points per possession. • His defense, which is often cited as an area where he loses significant ground to Embiid in this debate, has been much improved and good enough that the Nuggets are 14th in defensive rating on that end. Of note on that front: Jokic has been in the semi-regular habit of saving games with blocks at the buzzer (he’s averaging 0.8 blocks overall). Embiid • Averaging 29.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists in 46 games — marks that have been met 12 times before. With Embiid averaging 1.4 blocks, his Sixers are 11th in defensive rating. The narrative Jokic • No Jamal Murray all season and no Michael Porter Jr. since early November, yet Jokic’s Nuggets are somehow 33-25. That mark is a shade behind the Sixers (35-23), and good for sixth in the West so far (they’re only three games back of the fourth seed). • As you may have heard, the Nuggets are a very good team when Jokic is on the floor (plus-10.1 net rating) and awful when he’s not (minus-10.6). Denver is 1-5 when Jokic hasn’t played. Embiid • Make no mistake, Embiid deserves immense credit for leading this Sixers team anywhere while the entire basketball world talked about Simmons’ absence on a near-daily basis. But the drop-off when he departs, or even the impact when he’s on the floor, isn’t nearly as drastic: The Sixers are plus-seven in net rating with Embiid and minus 3.7 without him. They’re 4-9 when he hasn’t played. As an aside, Green picked Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan as his MVP. But he also had nothing but glowing things to say about Jokic. “Number one, he’s very difficult to cover on any part of the floor, whether it’s him handling the ball, shooting the ball, post up,” said Green, who has been out since Jan. 9 with a lower back injury and whose return timeline remains unclear. “Most guys who are that dominant, you want to send the double team, (but) he’s one of the best passers we have in the league, so he picks double teams apart. And you can’t give him the same look because he just picks teams apart. So I think the nimbleness and most importantly it’s his touch. When he gets the ball on the rim, it’s going in. I think that’s one of his best attributes is his touch.”
