The Utah Jazz are the biggest surprise in the NBA thus far this season, as they looked like a team gearing up for the 2023 NBA Draft during the offseason but have come out of the gates hot.
Alas, they did drop their last game on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia 76ers as Joel Embiid put together an MVP performance.
Embiid scored a career-high 59 points, which is also a season-high around the league, with 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocks. It was a historic performance by the MVP runner-up, as no player in NBA history has scored 50 points with at least 10 rebounds, five assists and five blocks since blocks were recorded as a stat.
There was nothing that the Jazz could do to slow him down. If there is a weak spot on Utah’s roster it is the center position, as Kelly Olynyk usually starts alongside Jarred Vanderbilt and Lauri Markkanen.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Joel Embiid, Utah Jazz & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
While Embiid’s performance was a memorable one, Vanderbilt did take some issues with it. He acknowledged that Embiid was in the zone, but believes that the referees helped him get to that level.
“When anybody’s in a zone like that, it’s tough to stop,” said Vanderbilt. “He had a lot of favorable calls, too, so he shot a lot of free throws and helped get him in a rhythm. So he’s seeing the ball go through the hoop a lot of times. At that point, it’s tough when somebody sees the ball go through that many times. They’re shooting it in an ocean at that point.”
“I feel like we tried to make some adjustments late, but at that point, it was kinda a little too late,” added Vanderbilt. “He was already in that zone and it was tough.”
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Joel Embiid, Utah Jazz & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
It sounds like a bit of sour grapes from Vanderbilt, who was part of the frontcourt that got torched by Embiid. Embiid wore out a path to the charity stripe as he attempted 24 free throws, making 20 of them.
That will help anyone get into a rhythm, but you still have to make the most of those opportunities and Embiid took full advantage. Jarred Vanderbilt believes that directly impacted how well Embiid shot from the floor as his confidence was sky-high.
LATEST NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Joel Embiid, Utah Jazz & Philadelphia 76ers Updates
He was 19-of-28 from the field overall as Utah just didn’t have an answer for him. Sometimes it is just someone’s night and that is how Sunday was for Embiid. No matter what Utah tried to do, he would have likely found a way to succeed against it.
