Joel Embiid fires back at criticisms about sitting matchup vs. Nikola Jokic
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PHILADELPHIA–The Philadelphia 76ers were able to bounce back on Wednesday when they returned home to host the Dallas Mavericks. The Sixers, despite not playing the greatest game, were able to rally from an early 12-point deficit and knock off the Mavs 116-108.
The Sixers welcomed Joel Embiid and James Harden back to the lineup after the two stars missed games with injuries. Embiid missed only one game due to calf tightness, but it was possibly the biggest matchup of the season for him and the Sixers.
Embiid sat out of Monday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets and the matchup with back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokic. Embiid and Jokic are battling for the MVP race and Embiid received criticism for sitting out for the matchup.
“I don’t care,” said Embiid. “Like I, said it’s all about the playoffs. I mean, if one game was going to hurt anybody’s chances, I guess everybody should be out of it. We all have bad games, guys miss matchups, that’s not the first time and it’s not really a matchup about me and Nikola. He’s a great player, an amazing player. Like I always say, back-this-back MVPs, he’s one of the best players in the league and I’m a huge fan.”
The two did match up back on Jan. 28, a Sixers win, and it was highlighted by Embiid going off for 47 points and leading the team to a win. He had a helluva afternoon for Philadelphia in a prime-time matchup.
While sitting out the matchup might hurt his MVP chances, he and the Sixers do have bigger goals in mind.
“Not playing against him was a huge bummer, but there’s a bigger goal in sight and that’s to make sure we’re healthy for the playoffs and, like I said, I got nothing to prove,” Embiid added. “The last matchup, we won and I had whatever I had. To go out there and say I’m scared after what I did the last time is kind of stupid, but like I said, I don’t care if I win it or not.”
With six games to go, Embiid and the Sixers will be looking to continue to build momentum in order to prepare for the playoffs. The big fella claims he is not concerned about the MVP award at the moment.
“I don’t care if I win it or not,” he stated. “I’m just focused on trying to win a championship and whatever happens out there. If I win, great. If I don’t win anything, I don’t care.”
