Why Joel Embiid's 52-point masterpiece vs. Celtics raises some playoff concerns for 76ers
PHILADELPHIA -- With his dominant 52- point , 13-rebound performance in Philadelphia's 103-101 win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night, 76ers center Joel Embiid might have locked up the 2023 NBA MVP Award. His coach thinks so, at least. "The MVP race is over," Doc Rivers said after the game. "Really. Like tonight, we couldn't make shots... The man just scored half of our points in an NBA game. And I'm biased, but the MVP race is over." Rivers is likely correct, as no player from across the league's landscape has been as downright dominant as Embiid this season. But, while the game served as an exclamation point to Embiid's season-long case, it also raised a couple of legitimate concerns regarding Philadelphia's upcoming playoff push. The way things have shaken out, it looks like the Celtics will finish at No. 2 in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Si...