-
Tim BontempsESPN
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid said his dominant performance in winning 131-123 at the Utah Jazz Wednesday night was fueled by playing against Rudy Gobert.
Embiid, who had 40 points, including the 3-point mark with 6.5 seconds left to finish with 19 rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks in 40 minutes, told ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan in December. that Gobert should not. has been third in the All-NBA team last season above him. He has also repeatedly said he wants to win Defensive Player of the Year (an award Gobert favors winning this season) and has made an exception for local media members who say he was “afraid” to play against the great Jazz man after losing that of Philadelphia. loss to Utah last month with a back injury.
“As we saw tonight, he seemed to be very scared of him,” Embiid said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “So, yes, he keeps talking.
“But, facing him, one of my goals is to be the defensive player of the year as well. So, you know, when he faces that kind of guy, he’s a great player and you know, he does a lot for his team that doesn’t show up in the stats … but when you go against these guys, you know, it brings something else to my game.
“I want to dominate. On the offensive side, but mainly on the defensive side, because that’s the goal I set myself at the beginning of the year … it’s the clashes you want to get out of and just dominate and show everyone that, as team, we have a great team, and individually, you should be up there when it comes to those rankings and things like that. “
Embiid was the difference at both ends of Philadelphia. While the Jazz outscored the Sixers 63-24 on the 3-point line, Embiid continued the parade all season to the foul line: he took 13 himself, while the Jazz took 19 as a team, one of the things that led to expelled jazz star Donovan Mitchell and several Utah players who criticized officials after the game. Embiid was also everywhere defensively, repeatedly breaking lobes to Gobert on the edge and, in one play, stopping a Mitchell drive just to jump immediately and block an attempt by Gobert dunk.
But for Embiid, the disrespect he gained in the awards vote last season, after the Sixers came out of the playoffs in a first round of the Boston Celtics, has been a source of motivation on which he has spoken back publicly. in the preseason.
Specifically, however, he pointed to Gobert as a source of frustration at being selected as the NBA center of the third team ahead of him.
“I agree that Anthony Davis had a better season than me,” Embiid told MacMullan in December. “[Nikola] Jokic? This is debatable. But Rudy Gobert? No offense, but he [averaged] 15 [points] and 13 [rebounds] and I was 23 and 12, and that’s a little big. I think my numbers were better. But people didn’t want me to vote because our team wasn’t doing well.
“It’s okay, because I’ll use it to motivate myself, so there’s no chance anyone can make that mistake again.”
When asked after Wednesday’s game if that refusal had any role in his performance, he didn’t try to hide it.
“That’s pretty fair,” Embiid said. “But what motivates me is to win the game. Without winning, you know, you’re not part of those conversations about the defensive player of the year and the MVP and all that. That’s the first thing. I want to win This that’s all I care about.
“The past is the past. It’s unfortunate the way things happened last year when I wasn’t there … it plays a huge role in my mindset this year, I just wanted to destroy everything that was happening to me. I’m playing in against a lot of great players every night. They’re very good at what they do. But where it’s needed to do the job, defensively and offensively, that’s what I have to do. “
Embiid, who will start the All-Star game on Sunday in Atlanta, has what is the best season of his career, averaging 30.2 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He is one of the top contenders for the MVP award, as Philadelphia enters the All-Star Break with a half-game advantage over the Brooklyn Nets to get the best Eastern Conference record.
But after several games recently, Embiid has repeatedly said he is more interested in winning the defensive player of the year than the MVP, though, to be fair, he won’t turn down that honor if he ends up coming.
And while Embiid said Wednesday several times that teammate Ben Simmons also deserved to be in the defensive award mix as he spoke before the game, Sixers coach Doc Rivers said he believed Simmons should be favored ahead of Gobert, which is why – Embiid said he focused on earning the honor because he had it as his goal since entering the NBA.
“When I joined the league, I never thought I would be so good offensively,” Embiid said. “I always focused on the defensive side, and that has always been my goal to win it. It would be good to do that, but like I said, that has been my focus in the league and obviously the score and the offensive side has taken over.
“I keep coming back to the same thing: you can’t be in these conversations without winning. Right now, we win, we’re first in the east, we win the best team in the league. A lot of great teammates who are doing a great job. You see [Sixers teammate Tobias Harris], that’s why I preach for him to be an All Star, for you to watch the nights as if that night dominated in overtime. And you know, as a team, we just play together, move the ball and defend well. “