Kia MVP Ladder: Joel Embiid leaps over Jayson Tatum, takes No. 2 spot
With Joel Embiid leading the charge in a spectacular manner, the 76ers clinched their 7th consecutive victory on Saturday.
BOSTON — Jayson Tatum set off Boston’s second NBA Rivals Week appearance in style, strolling into the building Thursday in green and black plaid accented with a turtleneck and a pair of black Travis Scott X Air Jordan 1 Low OGs.
Unwittingly, the 24-year-old dressed for an occasion that turned into Julius Randle Night at TD Garden.
“Tatum expressed, “We suffered a loss tonight, making it our third consecutive defeat. We need to regain our rhythm and secure a victory. Despite everything, we still maintain the best record. We’ve had an outstanding year. Therefore, don’t let the thrill of a nine-game winning streak overwhelm you. Similarly, don’t be too hard on yourself when you experience a three-game losing streak.”
Minutes after receiving news that he was named an All-Star starter for the third straight season, Tatum nailed the first of two 3-pointers — not to mention his first five shots — in fueling a Boston onslaught that saw the home team hit 6-for-12 from deep in the opening frame alone.
Game Recap: Knicks 120, Celtics 117
That early success proved fleeting in the face of Randle’s relentless attack. Randle scored a game-high 37 points with nine rebounds, sinking crucial free throws down the stretch to outduel Tatum, who poured in a team-high 35 points, in the New York Knicks’ 120-117 overtime win.
The game marked the fifth matchup of NBA Rivals Week, and Luka Doncic starred in the Game 6 nightcap in Phoenix that he couldn’t finish due to a sprained left ankle suffered just minutes into the Mavericks’ 99-95 win over the Suns.
NBA Rivals Week continues its slate of 11 nationally televised games Friday with the Memphis Grizzlies visiting the Minnesota Timberwolves (7:30 ET, NBA TV) and the Golden State Warriors hosting the Toronto Raptors (10 ET, NBA TV).
However, let’s return to the topic of Tatum.
Selected to his fourth consecutive NBA All-Star Game, Tatum bested fellow MVP candidate Joel Embiid for the third and final starting frontcourt spot in the East after the league collected all the votes (fan balloting accounted for 50% of the total and the final 50% of the vote was split by the media and NBA players). But the Boston star couldn’t fend off Embiid in this week’s Kia Race to the MVP Ladder, especially not with the Sixers having won six straight while the Celtics have lost three consecutive games for just the second time this season.
Embiid now holds the No. 2 spot in the race, trailing behind the reigning two-time Kia MVP Nikola Jokic. Tatum drops to third place, while Giannis Antetokounmpo moves up one position to fourth, following his return on Monday after a five-game absence due to knee soreness.
Meanwhile, Doncic drops down a notch to fifth.
And now, the top 5 in the 2022-23 Kia Race to the MVP Ladder:
1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets
Last week’s ranking: No. 1
Season stats: 25.1 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 9.9 apg
A tight left hamstring knocked Jokic out of Denver’s 107-99 loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday, and the reigning two-time MVP has missed three of the team’s last four games. Typically, missed starts equal cause for concern. But Jokic returned to the lineup Tuesday after sitting the previous two games, and churned out another gem with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a win at New Orleans. The game at Milwaukee — a potential clash between the last four MVP winners — came on the second night of a back-to-back, which likely means Jokic’s absence was likely just preventative. In fact, Denver sat out four starters as Nuggets coach Michael Malone lamented the “impossible job” the NBA has in putting together the 82-game schedule.
Nikola Jokic delivers a triple-double with 25 points in a victory against the Pelicans.
2. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
Last week’s ranking: No. 3
Season stats: 33.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 4.1 apg
With Embiid at the center of it all, Philadelphia is must-watch TV, especially for NBA Rivals Week. The Sixers dropped the Brooklyn Nets 137-133 on Wednesday for their sixth consecutive win in the first clash between former teammates Embiid and Ben Simmons. The center posted up Simmons just a minute into the game but finished 6-for-18 from the field and 13-for-13 at the free-throw line. (Overall, Simmons guarded Embiid for 2:10 in that game.) “I missed a lot of shots, which hasn’t happened in a while,” said Embiid, who averaged 35.1 points in his previous seven contests before putting up 26 points against the Nets. The play in the paint should only intensify Saturday when Embiid and the Sixers host Jokic and the Nuggets at Wells Fargo Center (3 ET, ABC) in another NBA Rivals Week matchup.
Last week, Joel Embiid dominated the game against Portland by scoring 32 points and securing nine rebounds in a victory.
3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics
Last week’s ranking: No. 2
Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 4.4 apg
Tatum sported Kobe Bryant’s purple “24” armband in Thursday’s game to honor the former Lakers star on the third anniversary of his death. Tatum jumped out the gates firing like Bryant, too, helping the Celtics seize a 15-5 lead just four minutes into the contest on his driving floater. The Boston forward would score just 10 points in the second and third quarters combined, and two points (on 0-for-5 shooting) in overtime. “I feel like we’ve still been playing the right way. We’ve still been playing with a sense of purpose and pace,” he said. “Sometimes, that s— just don’t go in.” It needs to Saturday when Boston closes NBA Rivals week with its third appearance in the showcase, hosting LeBron James and the Lakers.
In Thursday’s defeat to the Knicks, Jayson Tatum racked up 35 points.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
Last week’s ranking: No. 5
Season stats: 31.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg, 5.3 apg
Welcome back to the Milwaukee lineup and the MVP debate. Antetokounmpo missed five straight games (Jan. 12-21) due to a sore left knee, but returned Monday to lead a 20-point drubbing of the Pistons. He scored 20 of his 29 points in the first quarter on 6-for-6 from the floor before finishing with a team-high 12 rebounds. The former two-time MVP cranked up the heat even more two days later with 33 points and 14 rebounds against a Nuggets team playing without four starters (Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope). Antetokounmpo is grinding out a historic 2022-23 campaign, averaging 30-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists while shooting 50% or better overall. That’s happened just three times previously in NBA history — and not since 1972-73 by Hall of Famer and Bucks legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
With a 33-point performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks triumph over the Nuggets.
5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
Last week’s ranking: No. 4
Season stats: 33.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 8.4 apg
Dallas needed a win against the Suns on Thursday, but the team, which appears to be on the decline, has lost seven of its last ten games. This losing streak may continue if Doncic is sidelined due to his most recent injury. However, an X-ray taken at the stadium showed no serious damage, which is positive news. It’s important to note that the Mavericks have not won a game without the 23-year-old player, and all of his absences were during the second games of back-to-back sets. Doncic’s MVP potential is reminiscent of the path Jokic took last season to win his second MVP, as he led a Nuggets team that played the entire previous season without Murray and Porter. This is an important factor to consider when evaluating Doncic’s MVP credentials.
Luka Doncic scorches the Wizards with a game-high 41 points.
The Next Five:
6. Kevin Durant, Brooklyn Nets (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)
7. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
8. James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
9. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
10. Julius Randle, New York Knicks (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
And five more (listed alphabetically): Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics; Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder; Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn Nets; Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz.
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Michael C. Wright is a senior writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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