Did Joel Embiid lock up the NBA MVP against Celtics? Doc Rivers thinks so

PHILADELPHIA — Joel Embiid rolled up his jersey into a ball and flung it toward one of the Sixers’ laundry carts. When the jersey came up short of its intended target, Embiid declared that he had officially cooled off.

Luckily for the Sixers, that moment came in the locker room. Almost all the real shots Embiid took, the ones in the game that actually counted, went in.

“There are so many things that we did wrong. But what we did right was Joel Embiid,” coach Doc Rivers said. “And the MVP race is over, really. Tonight we couldn’t make shots, we had guys with open shots. The man just scored half our points in an NBA game.”

In a 103-101 win Tuesday over Boston, Embiid finished with 52 points on 20-of-25 shooting from the field and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. He added 13 rebounds, six assists (to just three turnovers) and two blocks. He was a plus-17 in a game his team won by two points. He was about as dominant as dominant gets. And as Rivers alluded to, he came about as close to single-handedly winning an NBA game as you’ll see.

This was the second time this season Embiid scored over half of the Sixers’ points, the first being his 59-point effort against Utah in early November. When prompted, Embiid said he believed his performance against the Jazz was his best two-way performance this season.

“But given the team that we played, Boston, and getting the win, I don’t know, it’s probably up there,” he added.

The significance of the Sixers’ win over the Celtics might vary depending on your perspective. In the standings, tangibly, it meant virtually nothing. The Sixers clinched no worse than the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, but if Boston wins one of its final three games or the Sixers lose one of theirs, the Sixers will be locked into third.

Considering the two teams’ respective places in the standings, though, there may have been some greater psychological stakes. In a week and a half, the Celtics and Sixers will begin first-round playoff series that both teams will be heavily favored to win. If the chalk holds, the old rivals will then meet in the second round.

Boston was 3-0 against the Sixers this season prior to this game. Did the Sixers, who have less playoff success than the Celtics’ core, need a win to help their psyche headed into the playoffs? Perhaps not, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Embiid called the victory “much needed.”

“We might see them in a second round if we make it there. You got to be ready for every scenario,” Embiid said. “I just wanted to see where I’m at and where we’re at as a team. I think if we could correct a lot of the mistakes that we made, we got a pretty good chance.”

Embiid differentiating between his own standing and the Sixers’, while likely unintentional, was the main takeaway from Tuesday’s game, as well as the other Sixers-Celtics matchups this season. Heading into the postseason, Embiid has never been more prepared to go toe-to-toe with elite level opposition. But there are major questions sizing up the rest of the 76ers’ roster.

Embiid’s MVP push has been fueled by his mastery at the elbows and the nail in the middle of the free-throw line. Ironically, the decision to focus on that area of the floor was made with the postseason in mind.

The Sixers run a set in which Embiid catches the ball at the left elbow while two Sixers engage in a screening action at the right elbow. The Sixers can score off that screen, but against Boston, it was merely window dressing to clear room for Embiid isolations. Grant Williams, who got the initial Embiid assignment, did not have much of an answer.

Embiid took turns scoring on Williams, Luke Kornet, Al Horford and Blake Griffin. When the Celtics pressed up, he drove by them. When he was given even the tiniest bit of airspace, he rose up for the jumper.

“I don’t remember him missing a shot. That’s one of the most efficient 50s I’ve seen,” James Harden said. “Being at the elbow sweet spot, he made the right decision the majority of the time. His shot was falling and he made some really good passes.”

The Celtics single-covered Embiid for most of the night, which likely won’t be their strategy come playoff time. Boston center Robert Williams III, who missed Tuesday’s game due to left knee injury management, will also be involved both as an on-ball defender and roamer on the back line.

Past Boston teams have mixed up coverages against Embiid, often double-teaming when he puts the ball on the floor. But there is reason to believe Embiid is much better prepared for that strategy now that he’s operating from the nail area rather than the block.

That improvement was on display in the final three minutes Tuesday. Before last Friday, P.J. Tucker had not made three 3-pointers in a game all season. But with Boston doubling Embiid, Tucker made three 3s in a span of two minutes in crunchtime.

“Better vision, better passing options, and that is what it comes down to,” Embiid said. “Obviously it gives me a lot of space, and like I said, it’s so much harder to double there than in the post.”

Unlike Milwaukee, Boston does not have a good one-on-one defensive option for Embiid. The Celtics’ doubling schemes, which have worked in the past, might not prove to be a panacea in a potential playoff series.

But even with a 99th percentile Embiid game and the absence of Robert Williams and Jaylen Brown, Boston was right there with Philly on Tuesday. While Embiid has found success against Boston, the Celtics’ advantages everywhere else will make them solid favorites if the teams meet in the playoffs.

Tyrese Maxey is the perfect encapsulation of the Sixers’ struggles against Boston. Since the Sixers last faced Boston, Maxey has played incredibly, averaging 23.1 points per game while shooting 53.4 percent from beyond the arc on 6.9 attempts per game over a 19-game stretch.

But Maxey has struggled mightily against Boston this season. In four games, he’s shooting 38 percent from the field and 20 percent overall. Celtics guard Derrick White, in particular, gives Maxey trouble on both ends of the floor.

Maxey has been a critical part of the Sixers’ success over the past two seasons. But to play on a team with championship expectations is to be held to the highest standard. If the Sixers are going to advance past Boston, they need to figure out a way to get him going against perhaps his toughest matchup in the league.

“At halftime, I made a comment to our guys like, ‘We got to get him going, we got to get him more involved. we got to get him up the floor,’” Rivers said. “It just didn’t happen tonight.”

The Sixers can make other tweaks. Georges Niang (0-of-3 shooting) is a good fit against Milwaukee’s help schemes with his quick-trigger 3-point shooting, but someone like Danuel House Jr. or Shake Milton might be a better matchup against a switch-heavy team like Boston.

In just under 10 minutes with Embiid off the floor, the Sixers were outscored by 10 points. Harden did not do his best work of picking on weak defenders, and the Celtics were able to recover and force tough shots.

And while the Celtics don’t have an answer for Embiid on defense, they should be confident in going small and playing five-out on the other end to make up the difference. Boston won the possession game handily on Tuesday, attempting 13 more shots than Philadelphia. The Celtics have a drive-and-kick identity that is difficult for the Sixers to handle. Harden and Maxey can be picked on in isolation.

On the play below, Jayson Tatum blows by Harden on a switch. Embiid makes a decision to help, but that leads to a wide-open 3 from Horford. Embiid gave up two 3s in the final minutes helping off Horford and Grant Williams in the same-side corner, but the blow-by is original sin.

“One thing we got to get better at is guarding the ball, keeping people in front of us, and you won’t cause as much rotations,” Embiid said. “So, if we do that, then you don’t have to overhaul. But then again, even in those situations, that’s still my fault because that’s not supposed to be my help. And the help is supposed to be from the corner guy on the other side.”

Perimeter defense is a tall order for these Sixers against a Boston roster equipped to break them down off the dribble. Just like on offense, Embiid is going to need some of his teammates to step up their games. He should continue to be successful against Boston, but likely not quite at Tuesday’s level.

While the Sixers won, Tuesday’s effort from everyone not named Embiid will result in a loss more times than not. The Sixers’ supporting cast struggled against Boston the entire regular season. To compete in the postseason against the Celtics, they will need more from them.

That includes the smaller details. Up by seven points with 9.1 seconds left, the Sixers made enough mistakes to give Tatum a chance to tie the game as time expired. There were turnovers, defensive breakdowns, unnecessary fouls and a continued inability to inbound the ball in pressure situations late.

“We had the whole gamut,” Rivers said. “So in some ways, it was a good way to win because it gave us material in a crazy way to hit home about all the little points.”

It sure feels like Embiid is in the driver’s seat to win his first MVP. After the game, he was asked if he agreed with Rivers and his teammates’ suggestions that he had locked up the award.

“I mean, they’re probably right,” Embiid said. “But we got bigger goals.

(Photo of Joel Embiid: Jesse D. Garrabrant / NBAE via Getty Images)