Accused of "plowing stats" to race MVP with Nikola Jokic, what does Joel Embiid say?

Entering the match between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets, fans have been looking forward to the heroic battle of the two top NBA bigman, who are also two bright candidates for the MVP title, Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid.

But before the game, only one of the two qualified to play was "The Joker" Nikola Jokic, Embiid was alone with the bench because of a calf muscle strain.

Immediately after seeing the Sixers' bigman not playing, many Denver Nuggets fans began to poke fun. Someone even printed a sign "looking for someone" to tease the Cameroonian striker.

Embiid's absence from the field today has sparked a number of rumors and comments online, claiming that Joel "competits for stats in small matches and rests in big matches".

So what does Embiid say about this? He shared very frankly and openly with prestigious journalist Shams Charania of The Athletic.

“I don't care what they say. Personally, I think I've taken it to a higher level than trying to win the championship. To achieve that, I need to divide my energy properly," Joel Embiid told Shams Charania.

Embiid pointed out an example of him not caring about the stat plow story. Specifically, on March 23, when the 76ers met the Chicago Bulls, Joel previously had 10 consecutive games scoring over 30 points.

He can completely extend this series of matches because he thinks that the Bulls do not have a real striker who is physically fit to defend. In the end, Embiid played only 16 minutes in the match Philadelphia won against the opponent's blow-out.

“From the beginning, I have always been focused on the main goal of winning the championship at the end of the season. The side things like individual titles, All-Star or MVP, for me, it's fine, if not, it's okay," added bigman 76ers.

Sharing about the reason for keeping Joel Embiid on the bench, head coach Doc Rivers said that he did not want to take the risk when the student had calf pain.

“In terms of the team's overall performance, I think 1-2 defeats doesn't have much of an impact on the rankings at this point. So as soon as I heard about Embiid's calf pain, I immediately crossed his name out of the squad," the 76ers captain said.

For the Philadelphia coaching staff, this is not a serious injury. But this is the time when they need to calculate their personnel carefully, avoiding taking unnecessary risks.

James Harden is also injured and if you let Embiid go on the field and go all out, it is impossible to predict what will happen.

The race to the title of MVP will close at the same time as the Regular Season and right now, Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic are the two brightest candidates.

Nikola Jokic is having 24.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 9.9 assists - the average per game is close to a triple-double. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid was slightly ahead on points but less comprehensive, averaging 33.3 points with 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

This promises to be a thrilling race until the last matches, bringing an extremely painful problem for the "weights and ink players" for the title of the best player of the tournament.