DENVER — Bright blue sticky plastic wrap enveloped Joel Embiid’s right lower leg as Monday’s 76ers shootaround concluded, keeping an ice bag pressed against the tight calf he has been dealing with for almost a week.
That injury robbed Embiid — and NBA followers at large — of Round 2 of a marquee showdown against Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets’ superstar who beat out Embiid the past two seasons for the league’s Most Valuable Player award. That those two players (along with the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo) are again the frontrunners for the sport’s most prestigious individual honor has been accompanied by discourse that has recently turned toxic, including former Hall of Famer coach (and former Nuggets leader) George Karl saying during a radio interview that Embiid has “lazy body language.”
That has prompted Sixers coach Doc Rivers and Nuggets coach Michael Malone to publicly express their distaste for how making a case for one contender too often devolves into ripping the others, who also are elite players anchoring championship contenders. Plus, a quick scan of some key stats — along with applying the eye test — illustrates that the “lazy” does not characterize the current version of Embiid.
