Is this natural?

    For some coaches, their problems revolve around trying to get timid players to score. Like Nick Sirianni and Jalen Hurts last year. Hurts scrambled more than he threw and had a weak arm. Or maybe you might think of P.J. Tucker, who often looks for an assist or pass rather than a bucket, and has only 4.9 points per game. Whoever comes to your mind, it was the complete opposite for the Utah Jazz. They needed Embiid to stop his excellence, and the Jazz couldn't do it themselves. Unfortunately for them, Joel Embiid didn't.

    Embiid toyed with Utah. He was a one man wrecking crew: he passed, blocked, scored, and rebounded. Embiid played with the Jazz all night, and the Sixers came up with a huge win to move up in their competitive conference. The Sixers played all around solid basketball. They didn't crush the Jazz, but they didn't beat Utah by a point, or lose. It was a great game for the team but a better game for Embiid. 

    We all knew that Joel Embiid was a superb player. He has been an MVP runner-up, a points per game season leader, and his games regularly prove his talent. But he didn't beat the Jazz, he demolished them with a career game. He crushed the life out of them. Offensively he destroyed them, with 59 points and 8 assists. Embiid silenced Utah, and brought roaring Philadelphia 76'ers fans, packed into the Wells Fargo Center, to life. Defensively he terrorized them, with a steal and 11 rebounds. Oh, and don't bother trying to put up points against the big man. Embiid's seven blocks was the icing on the cake for his amazing night. The past two games have been a joke for Embiid. In two games he grabbed 21 rebounds, he's had 14 assists, three steals, and nine blocks. Incredible statistics for Embiid. And to add onto that, in only two games, Embiid has had 101 points. That, means that over the last two games, he has averaged 50.5 points. That's kind of a lot. 

Joel Embiid put on a show

Photo Credit: EuroHoops

    Joel Embiid, and the Sixers started out slow. But as soon as Embiid's stats started going, so did the team. Tyrese Maxey didn't have a great game, with 18 points and three assists, but Maxey is filling James Harden's hole very well. He doesn't have jaw dropping stats because Embiid takes care of that business. Everyone single player can't have 59 points. Maxey's consistency behind the arc, and his speed and quick thinking is helping the team, regardless of his average statistics.

    So to answer the question posed, no, this is not natural. "Why is this not natural?" you may ask. It's because Embiid is not natural. Joel Embiid is really a freak of nature. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above photo was taken for a EuroHoops article. Photo from Getty Images. Image used for commentary.