The current NBA MVP, Joel Embiid, returned to the court this Wednesday against all odds. After suffering a left knee injury at the end of January, the Cameroonian center was expected to be out of action for the remainder of the season, even jeopardizing his presence at the Paris Olympic Games this summer. His return in the decisive stretch of the championship changes the Eastern Conference and increases the chances of the Sixers who depend on their star like no other team in the league, as was proven in their victory last night against the Oklahoma City Thunder, leaders of the West until then.
Although he is not yet in full shape, the Cameroonian scored 24 points in the 29 minutes he played. Recovering physically is important, but also mentally. The player, accustomed to injuries throughout his career, confessed that this time he had suffered mentally. “I’ve been depressed. For some reason, this injury has been disappointing and I still haven’t recovered mentally,” confessed at the end of the meeting.
The dependent relationship between the Sixers and their star is the most evident in the NBA. With the center, the team is capable of winning 76.47% of the games (balance of 26-8), while without him, they do not even reach 35% (14-27). The disparity of the results with or without their leader, are the greatest in the league, ahead of Luka Doncic —Dallas earns 31.28% less in his absence—, or Shai, whose absences reduce the results by 21.83%. Oklahoma wins. In the case of Philadelphia, only Tyrese Maxey is capable of offering offensive arguments beyond Embiid, who has emerged as an outstanding second sword with 25.6 points per game.
Before the injury, the team was in a discreet fifth place in the East with 30 wins and 18 games. After yesterday’s victory, the Sixers are eighth with a balance of 41-35 that would force them to go through the play-in —the fight between the seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth that gives access to playoffs— and face off against the Miami Heat, last year’s finalist.
The return of the current MVP increases the chances of Philadelphia climbing the table to sixth place, which gives direct access to the final rounds, where the Indiana Pacers are at 43-33. And in case of sneaking in, the goal is a final that the franchise has not known since 2001, during the time of Allen Iverson. On the way would be the Boston Celtics, the team with the best record in the competition and favorite for the title, but with Embiid, the Sixers will be a rival to be avoided by everyone.
Embiid’s injury also changed the fight for individual awards in the competition. Before his break, the Cameroonian center was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game, which made him the favorite to retain his title as the season’s most valuable player (MVP). However, since this season it is necessary for a player to reach a minimum of 65 games played to be able to aspire to the award, which rules out last year’s winner, who was left at 34 before his physical problems and who only has six until the end regular season. According to him weekly ranking prepared by the leaguethe Serbian Nikola Jokić is the favorite to lift what would be his third trophy, followed by the Slovenian Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) and the Canadian point guard Gilgeous-Alexander, star of the revelation team of the season: the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The injury occurred on January 30, just a couple of weeks after achieving his single-game scoring record (70 points), Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga fell on Embiid’s knee and all the alarms went off. . After considering a more conservative treatment, Embiid decided to undergo surgery to repair the torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. The decision was surrounded by predictions, and everyone pointed out that the player could miss the remainder of the season. The estimated recovery times then ranged between four and nine months, even threatening his participation in the Paris Olympic Games in which he would finally represent the United States—instead of France, as expected—in a decision not exempt from controversy.
Although his return to the field is good news, the center’s injury history invites caution. Embiid turned 30 in mid-March and, since his arrival in the league, knee problems have been his main obstacle. After being selected by the Sixers as the third pick of the draft 2014, Embiid took two years to debut after injuring his foot.
If the end of the season already promised strong emotions in a tight Western Conference, with the Mavericks (45 wins), Pelicans (45), Kings (44), Suns (44), Lakers (43) and Warriors (41) fighting to avoid the play-in, Embiid’s return brings with it a new paradigm in the East and the Sixers go from bargain to being a bone that everyone will want to avoid.
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