The NBA MVP Race Just Got A Little More Spicy After Joel Embiid Decided To Take Some Shots At Giannis

Mitchell Leff. Getty Images.

In the home stretch of last night's Cavs/Sixers game, we had ourselves a little bit of drama with about 4 minutes left. The Cavs had cut the lead to 108-101 when Joel Embiid got the ball at the FT line. He then made this move

Now with a play like this, what you think happened is directly related to what team you root for. Zero Sixers fans will say this is an offensive foul, and zero Cavs fans will say it's not. That's how sports work. The fact that they reviewed that play and overturned it given how blatant it clearly was is a little suspect, but welcome to the NBA. You think the league office is going to toss JOEL EMBIID in that moment on a nationally televised game? Zero chance. Not a guy who is on an MVP tear right now in a big time game with a ton of eyeballs.

So in that regard, you could make the case that the Cavs got boned. At the same time, that one play isn't why they lost. Sure he had a bucket right after to put them up 110-101, but he didn't score again for the rest of the game. The Cavs had it at 110-107 with about 2:30 left and they couldn't get the stops they needed to get over the hump. That's life.

Why all this matters of course is due to what Embiid had to say about this play after the game

I mean, there's no need to lie. He extended his arm. We all saw it. But who cares about that really. The important part is this 

We got some guys that basically play like running backs in this league that get that call all the time

Hmmmmm…who could he be referring to? I wonder. 

Oh hell yes. The MVP race was spicy enough already given what Jokic/Giannis/Embiid are currently doing on the floor, and I'm afraid we've now gone up a few levels. I will say, very weak for Embiid to just not say Giannis' name here. We all know who he was talking about, so just say the name. This is like when you see someone subtweet instead of adding the handle. If you're brave enough to talk shit, be brave enough to say the name you're talking about. So unfortunately I have to deduct a few points from Embiid there. 

Why does this matter? Guess who plays on 4/2. That's right, the Sixers are on the road in MIL. Something tells me not only is the MVP race going to still be tight as hell by that time, but the race in the East should be as well. We've seen this before when it comes to players talking shit about Giannis, how could we forget Embiid's now current teammate not too long ago

The irony here is let's not pretend like Embiid doesn't get an insane whistle just like Giannis does. Self awareness isn't really a Sixers/Sixers Twitter strong suit, but that's a different story for a different day. Is what Embiid is saying true? The part about how Giannis just runs into people and gets the calls? Yes. Happens all the time. The same way Embiid has been known to flop his way to fouls. It's just what you have to accept when you play either guy over the course of 48 minutes.

But what I do know is that 4/2 game just became even juicier. I can't ever remember a time where Embiid called out a player like that, but I guess that's what happens in the heat of an MVP race. As of now, the Sixers own a 2-1 head to head record against MIL, and the Bucks haven't won since their first game of the year. I'm just telling you now, make sure you have your popcorn ready. Not only could that game determine seeding for someone, it could also potentially end the MVP debate one way or another