At halftime of Game 7, the Philadelphia 76ers were only down 55-52. They were still very much in the Game, but a 10-point third quarter would be the tragic end to the season for the 76ers. Tobias Harris led all Sixers in Game 7 with 19 points. League MVP Joel Embiid finished the game with 15/8/1 and two blocks. His (9.4) point drop-off from the regular season to the playoffs is the largest by that year’s MVP in NBA history.
In the regular season, Joel Embiid led the league with (33.1) points per game. He won his first-ever MVP trophy this season. Embiid was not able to transfer that production consistently into the regular season. Philly’s season is over and it’s going to be a long offseason.
Sixers fans have been told to trust the process while Joel Embiid is on the team. However, year after year they continue to underdeliver and jobs are on the line. Doc Rivers might have coached his last game with the 76ers.
Joel Embiid averaged 33.1 PPG in the regular season and 23.7 PPG in the playoffs.
That drop-off (-9.4) is the largest by that year’s MVP in NBA history. pic.twitter.com/beu4XrfqNg
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 15, 2023
In Game 7, Joel Embiid had 15 points in 38 minutes played
During the 2022-23 regular season Joel Embiid had 44 games with at least 30 points. He played in 66 regular season games. Two out of every three games he was averaging a 30-point performance. The 29-year-old was not able to match those kinds of performances in the playoffs.
Embiid played in 9 of Philly’s 11 postseason games in 2023. During the 2022-23 regular season he avered (33.1) points per game, the best in the league. His (23.7) points per game were the fifteenth-best among all players in the 2032 playoffs.
Fifteen points in Game 7 last night was not going to cut it for the Sixers. However, Embiid didn’t get much help offensively last night. The Sixers shot an awful (.216) percent from deep and (.373) from the field. James Harden finished with 9/6/7 in Game 7, one of his worst performances this postseason. He is one player who the Sixers might not want to bring back for next season. Harden does have the option to become a free agent this offseason with how his contract is set up.
