Even with James Harden on the floor and Tyrese Maxey back from injury, the Philadelphia 76ers will continue to be Joel Embiid‘s team until further notice.
The Kansas product has become one of the most unstoppable offensive forces in the league, and his impact on the defensive end of the floor cannot be overlooked, either.
That’s why he often tries to do it all on both ends, something that might exasperate his fans and teammates.
That was on full display again during the win over the New Orleans Pelicans when he tried to contest a shot, landed awkwardly, and gave us all a scare.
Per Harden, that’s just another one of his ‘Paul Pierce moments’:
“That was one of those Paul Pierce moments where he tried to — you never know what you’re going to get out of Joel,” Harden said, per NBC Sports. “But he’s been playing extremely well.”
You definitely don’t want to see your injury-prone franchise player landing awkwardly, especially after being listed as questionable with lower back soreness:
“It’s just been getting tight lately,” Embiid admitted. “I don’t know. But I’m glad we got the win, battled it out. We did a great job tonight, especially having lost against them last week. So it was good to see us bounce back.”
But even despite the injuries and constant ailments, Embiid still managed to put a month for the ages, earning Eastern Conference Player of the Month honors after averaging 41 points and 10 rebounds per game over the past 30 days.
NEXT: Doc Rivers Makes Bold Prediction About The Philadelphia Eaglesa December to remember. 🌟
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— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) January 3, 2023