Sixers Notes: Embiid, Thybulle, Reed, McDaniels

Already the NBA’s leading scorer, Sixers star Joel Embiid has taken his offensive game to another level since the All-Star break, averaging an eye-popping 35.1 points and 4.4 assists per night on .549/.400/.838 shooting in his last eight games (35.9 MPG). His latest signature performance came on Friday vs. Portland, when he racked up 39 points and made a game-winning basket in the final seconds of the game.

“That’s why he’s MVP of the league this year,” teammate James Harden said.

Much of the Most Valuable Player discourse as of late has focused on Nikola Jokic, who is the best player on the West’s best team and is positioning himself for a third consecutive consecutive MVP award. However, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Embiid – the runner-up in 2021 and 2022 – is building a strong case of his own, scoring nearly nine points per game more than Jokic and dominating on both ends of the floor.

While Pompey acknowledges that Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, and especially Giannis Antetokounmpo are worthy MVP candidates, he believes it’s once again shaping up to be a two-man race between the Sixers’ and Nuggets’ star centers, and he favors Embiid at this point.

Here’s more out of Philadelphia:

• Facing former teammate Matisse Thybulle on Friday for the first time since the fourth-year wing was traded to Portland last month, Embiid said he told Thybulle he “kinda was not happy with some of the comments that were made lately,” according to Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. Thybulle has spoken multiple times since being dealt about feeling more comfortable with his new team than he did in Philadelphia. Embiid said on Friday that “playing in Philly is not easy” and comes with a lot of pressure, though as Carlin observes, Thybulle’s comments about his “fear-based play” as a Sixer were more about how the team was handling his minutes than about the championship expectations in Philadelphia.
• The Sixers have rotated through multiple players at backup center this season, but Paul Reed has been establishing himself lately as the go-to option in that role. As Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia writes, head coach Doc Rivers believes Reed is building chemistry with his teammates – including Harden – and has a better grasp of his role than he did earlier in the year. Reed will be eligible for restricted free agency this summer.
• A Sixer for just over a month, Jalen McDaniels is becoming an important rotation player for the club, says Rich Hofmann of The Athletic. As Levick details, Rivers suggested he’s looking for ways to get McDaniels more minutes at different positions, adding that he’s confident in the forward’s shooting ability despite his modest results (3-of-10 three-pointers) since joining the 76ers. “He’s a way better shooter than we thought,” Rivers said. “He can shoot the ball. It’s not great results yet, but you’ll see ‘em. You can just tell by the way he shoots the ball.”