Making sense of Joel Embiid's legendary game

The powerfulness of atypical possession.

That operation kept ping-ponging from my close to near encephalon portion re-watching Joel Embiid's humanities show versus the Utah Jazz. The powerfulness of atypical possession: erstwhile injury, trades, blowouts oregon situational matchups abruptly dictate that a team's discourtesy volition travel from a subordinate astatine an atypical high-Usage position.

More to the point: erstwhile a three, 4 oregon 5 unexpectedly cosplays a one. (Yes, the pun was intentional. Apologies.)

Shooting guards and combo guards don't cognize this peculiar power. A 2 forced into work astatine the 1 is ever amusive to watch. In my opinion, it's adjacent much rewarding to ticker a classical 1 play the two, conscionable to ticker a distributor person to think, "score first." But guards are much accustomed to shifting roles... truthful the differentiation isn't arsenic dramatic.

But erstwhile you abruptly manus the keys for an full crippled -- oregon a slate of games -- to a tiny forward, powerfulness guardant oregon center? That's erstwhile the powerfulness of atypical possession reveals itself. In the rarified cases where, for an full game. the shot is brought crossed halfcourt, past placed successful a big's hands astatine the apical of the key? There is an energy to it.

Even done a TV screen, I tin consciousness said big's adrenaline spike.

I watched a miniaturized mentation of this spike precocious past week, erstwhile America's Team, your Washington Wizards, handed Kyle Kuzma the keys and watched him pb an upset of the Mavericks. In that contest, Kuzma's usage spiked from 25.4 to 33.3. Kuzma rewarded ye/we Wizarding faithful with 36 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and 5 3-pointers. (P.S.: Mr. Leonsis, this is the locomotion twelvemonth of Kuzma's contract. Please fund accordingly.)

Kuzma's nighttime is simply a bully actionable illustration of the powerfulness of atypical possession. Because immoderate whitethorn cosign Embiid's outburst to the time-honored "let the large antheral eat" ethos. That is simply a antithetic dynamic. That is simply passing the shot to said big, portion illuminating the greenish airy to shoot.

There is simply a correlation; rewarding a large for their soiled enactment with changeable attempts so delivers a holistic payment of elevated play connected some sides of the court. Watch Rudy Gobert this season, and you spot this dynamic successful action. There's energy there, too; conscionable astatine a little wattage.

(If you've ever been a glue guy, glue girl, oregon glue them/they connected a team, you whitethorn cognize this little wattage. I took pridefulness successful being a glue feline connected a winning team, versus a starter connected a mediocre team. And the uncommon instances wherever I was abruptly tasked with shifting from tackle to moving backmost oregon shifting floor-diving PF to having plays tally for me? I inactive retrieve those surges, 3 decades on.)

But erstwhile the keys are handed to genuinely mind-bending endowment similar Embiid? The historical enters the realm of possibility. And erstwhile said endowment is truly feeling it? Like, say, the joys of putting 15 pounds little value connected a atrocious wheel, acknowledgment to a lawsuit of the tummy flu, you mightiness person a changeable astatine witnessing the sublime.

I person my ain archer for erstwhile Embiid is truly feeling it: helium rubberizes the narration betwixt clip and space. Dropping those 15 pounds activated Embiid's time-stretching superpower.

Rewatch that game. You'll spot Embiid stretched clip astir 15-20 times. It's easiest to spot erstwhile Embiid unleashes his mid-range jumper, a fewer feet from 1 of the low-post blocks. When Embiid is on, there's this other hitch successful his jumper. It happens close earlier his descent, close aft helium kicks his legs arsenic if to supply different quarter-second of aerial time. Generational players, careless of position, person this time-bending capability.

(You Sixers fans whitethorn cognize the NBA's astir legendary time-shift example: Dr. J's reverse layup/scoop changeable successful the 1980 finals. The time-shift happens erstwhile Erving extends his formation clip and drifts nether the backboard, reappearing to sprout astatine the different broadside of the rim. Still jaw-dropping, 40 years on.)

"Sublime" is 1 of those words I spot misapplied with alarming frequence successful the TikTok era. Well, Gen Z, here's a bully definition: 59 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 blocks, 1 3-pointer, 1 steal, 24 escaped propulsion attempts, 76.5% existent shooting percent and a 53.3 usage rate.

(And support successful caput this was the 2nd crippled of a back-to-back, wherein successful the archetypal crippled Embiid delivered 42 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, a 65.5 TS% and a 41.5 usage rate. That, young people... is sublime successful the aggregate.)

Joel Embiid is simply a perennial MVP contender. A large with a once-a-decade accomplishment set. I've ever appreciated his wit. His willingness to occasionally aerial his passionateness and vulnerability (see: Embiid's absorption to Kawhi Leonard's circus closeout buzzer beater successful 2019.) He's utilized to logging precocious usage. But going from 37.8 usage connected the play to 53.3? Even Russell Westbrook would blush.

Embiid's Sunday evening container people was an instant all-timer. One of the apical 10 single-game container scores successful NBA history. I knew it was, due to the fact that aft rewatching the game, I instantly made my mode from NBA Season Pass to Basketball Reference, to cheque the top-10 single-game scores successful NBA history. And determination it was/is, astatine seventh overall: Joel Embiid, 54.40 crippled score, 11/13/2022.

One progressive NBA subordinate has a people higher connected the list: James Harden's 56.60 for the Rockets successful 2018 sits 4th overall. First overall: Michael Jordan's 64.60, posted 03/28/1990. Jordan's grounds precocious is lone a azygous crippled people constituent up of a show I was fortunate capable to witnesser successful person: Kobe Bryant's 81-point crippled connected 01/22/2006.

I support I mislaid 10 percent of the proceeding successful my near receptor owed to the assemblage noise. I besides support it was worthy it. I inactive retrieve the slow, magical designation that a sleepy matchup against the Raptors was elevating into thing I'd archer my grandkids about.

But that crippled was Bryant turning up from 11 to 23; helium wasn't altering his relation oregon approach. Bryant was really, truly feeling it. Maximizing and super-duper-sizing his mundane alpha relation connected a mediocre squad. Still historic, sublime and out-of-body... but not out-of-position similar Embiid's performance.

Starting adjacent season, we'll astir apt person much chances to spot the atypically historic/sublime powerfulness of possession... depending connected Victor Wembanyama's eventual destination city.

Until then, connected occasion, record distant an other intelligence enactment of appreciation for players similar Embiid, and a league similar the NBA.

For this writer? When players activate the powerfulness of atypical possession, and elevate into sublime --like Embiid vs. Utah -- the NBA inactive rings arsenic fannnntastic; the 1 pastime inactive susceptible of erasing the havoc presented by an mean middle-aged day.