Boston Celtics reporter calls out Joel Embiid’s swipe at Nikola Jokic
Boston Celtics beat reporter Jay King took down Joel Embiid’s recent swipe at Nikola Jokic regarding how defensive analytics don’t match the eye test in a tweet on the morning of March 27. Embiid made the comments to Shams Charania in a piece for The Athletic (subscription required).
“You can talk about analytics all you want,” Embiid said. “When you got some guys in the league, the eye test tells you that they’re not good defensively, but analytics tell you they’re the best defenders. That’s when analytics don’t make sense at all.”
That prompted a snarky response from King:
“I don’t care about MVP. I swear. But analytics don’t make sense. The eye test tells you that certain players (wink, wink) are not good defensively while analytics say they’re the best defenders. Please vote for me over Jokic. But seriously, I don’t care about the MVP at all.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) March 27, 2023
Evan Turner feels Marcus Smart could shut down Joel Embiid in potential playoff series between Boston Celtics and 76ers
During an appearance on FanDuel TV’s Run It Back podcast with Charania, Eddie Gonzales, and Chandler Parsons, former Boston Celtics and 76ers wing Evan Turner claimed that the Cs could dispatch of Philadelphia — assuming Marcus Smart, a six-foot-four guard — shuts down the MVP candidate Embiid.
“I’m taking the Celtics every single day,” Turner said. “Twice on Sundays. I think, with this history, the Boston Celtics have their number. Besides the fact that I like the Celtics’ top eight better than I like the Sixers top eight, but the way (Joel) Embiid‘s been playing this past year, you have to take into consideration something occurring. But you know, Jayson Tatum, he’s been through this a lot. The team has been playing hella defense. And at the same time, Marcus Smart, if he has to shut down Embiid, maybe he can do it. He’s done it before.”
The Celtics own a 62–47 advantage over the 76ers in the postseason, having most recently swept Philadelphia out of the Lake Buena Vista bubble on Disney World’s Wide World of Sports complex back in 2020.