The banner, supported by two poles, was still on display Wednesday afternoon, across Pattison Avenue from the Eagles’ practice facility in South Philadelphia. It was green with white lettering, of course.
“William Penn. Ben Franklin. Jalen Hurts,” it said on one side. And on the other, it said, “Winning – It’s A Philly Thing.”
Yeah, well, about that …
The Eagles came up short in the Super Bowl, just as the Phillies had in the World Series.
Which makes it the Sixers’ turn to scale the mountaintop.
Lord help us all.
They are again a good team, no question. Wednesday’s 118-112 victory over Cleveland was their 26th win in 33 games, improving their record to 38-19 heading into this weekend’s All-Star break. That leaves them third in the East, behind Boston and Milwaukee.
But we all know their grim history. How they haven’t advanced past the second round of the playoffs since 2001 and haven’t won a title since 1983. Something, it seems, always goes haywire.
And there was an ominous sign Wednesday that that might once again be the case.
“I’m not healthy,” Joel Embiid said as he sat in the locker room after the game. “I haven’t been healthy for the past three weeks, a month.”
Embiid, the league’s second-leading scorer at 33.1 points a game (.2 behind Luka Doncic), is afflicted with what he described as a “lingering foot issue,” the big reason he has missed 12 games this year. He also said he isn’t sure whether he’ll be able to play in Sunday’s All-Star Game in Salt Lake City.
“I feel like I’ve reached a point where I really need to follow the doctor’s advice,” he said, adding that doctors told him earlier this season that he “should have been sitting for two weeks.”
“So now,” he said, “let’s see how the next few days go, and go from there.”
This is obviously not the best news for a team with championship aspirations. Everything revolves around Embiid, as always. Everything changes if he is compromised or forced to miss a significant chunk of time.
“The focus is on winning, especially getting ready for the second half of the season and the playoffs,” he said. “I’m focused on winning the championship, and whatever helps get me healthy, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m just going to see how it goes. … I’m going to do whatever they say. Just need rest and (to) stay off my feet.”
Again: Uh-oh.
Embiid’s revelation came on what was supposed to be a celebratory night. He surpassed 10,000 career points in the first quarter, in just his 373rd game. That’s five games fewer than Allen Iverson, who had been the fastest in franchise history to that milestone.
And after the Cavs sliced a 28-point deficit to 10 early in the fourth quarter, Embiid packed 10 of his 29 points into the final 7:03 to clinch the victory. In doing so he unfurled his entire arsenal. Twice he powered to the rim and scored against Jarrett Allen, a good defender. Twice he went to spin moves on dribble-drives from the right wing, drew fouls and sank his free throws. And with 3:54 left and the Sixers holding eight, he knocked down a contested jumper from the right baseline that felt like a back-breaker.
“He has,” Allen said, “every move in the book.”
Doc Rivers reiterated afterward that when he took the Sixers’ coaching job three years ago, it was in large part because he would have the opportunity to work with Embiid. (Also Ben Simmons, but that’s another story for another time.) Rivers has since found that the big fellah is “way better” than he realized.
“Being in the West (with the Clippers), you only saw him twice (each season),” he said. “He’s so much better in almost everything than even I thought, and he’s so much smarter, too. That’s what you don’t know when you don’t coach a guy – like, his brain.”
Or, for that matter, his desire to be great.
“Every year he adds stuff,” Rivers said. “He’s still working. He’s not satisfied.”
An overlooked element of Embiid’s success is his foul shooting. He went 11-for-12 at the line Wednesday and is at 85.8 percent this season, and 81.7 for his career – exceptional for a big guy. Of the seven centers listed among the top 20 scorers of all time, only Dan Issel (79.3) compares. Moses Malone (76.0) was also reliable at the line, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (72.1) and Hakeem Olajuwon (71.2) were OK. Elvin Hayes (67.0) was subpar, while Shaquille O’Neal (52.7) and Wilt Chamberlain (51.1) famously struggled.
“You can watch every night and you can tell who’s trying to get a shot up without getting fouled and who doesn’t care,” Rivers said, referring specifically to the closing minutes of a tight game. “And Joel is one of those guys that doesn’t care: ‘I’m gonna make the shot or you’re gonna foul me.’”
Pretty complete package, though there are always asterisks. Always, always, always. Angst – it’s a Philly thing.