Joel Embiid is dominating the NBA in a way that was only done by Shaquille O'Neal during his prime years, and the Philadelphia 76ers center is doing it better.
Embiid exploded for 42 points on Monday to power the Sixers to the 147-143 victory over the Indiana Pacers. He was incredibly efficient in the game, going 11-of-16 from the field and earning 19 free throws–which he all made–in order to dominate. Not to mention that he did his job on the defensive end with four defensive rebounds, two steals and one block.
With another 40-point game, Embiid continues to widen his lead against Shaq for the most 40-point games by a center since 2000. The Sixers big man now has 37, while O'Neal had 23 per Stat Muse.
While some argue that Joel Embiid is getting a lot of his points from the free throw line, the fact remains that he's creating such opportunities for himself. Besides, he's also converting his freebies at a high rate despite the general belief that shooting free throws is a common waterloo for big men. The 28-year-old is making over 85 percent of his shots from the charity stripe.
The Sixers are title contenders again because of Embiid. And if he can continue dominating and putting up the numbers to keep Philly in the Top 4 of the East standings, it's not hard to see him getting more than just a few nods for MVP–though that is a discussion for another day.
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