As the Nuggets finished warming up, not all of them knew yet. In their minds, they were minutes away from their rematch with the defending MVP.
“I was trying to grab guys individually,” coach Michael Malone said, his goal being to encourage them one at a time: “Hey man, no letdowns.” He was afraid that Joel Embiid’s last-second scratch could soften his team’s mental edge.
“And Aaron Gordon was like, ‘What are you talking about?’” Malone recalled after his fears came true but the Nuggets escaped with a 111-105 win anyway.
“I said, Embiid’s not playing. So like, our players didn’t know. They’re out on the court warming up.”
Malone expects the NBA will investigate the 76ers for Embiid’s abrupt absence from the ABC-televised game Saturday afternoon at Ball Arena. The league instituted its new Player Participation Policy before this season, placing guardrails on load management of “star players.” One rule within the PPP requires teams to ensure their healthy star players are available for all national television broadcasts. Players who have been an All-Star or All-NBA selection in the last three years are considered stars.
Embiid was not mentioned at all on Philadelphia’s pregame injury report, even as probable or questionable, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported shortly before opening tip that the 76ers center was out due to knee soreness. Malone joked that “Woj called me” when asked when and how he found out.
“I don’t know how you go from being active, available, to out. And I’m sure the league will do their due diligence, because that’s frowned upon,” the ninth-year Nuggets coach said. “And we’ve had situations this year where we talked to the league, and they told us if a player goes from being active to out, there’s going to be an investigation. So I’m sure that’ll happen. And I’m sure that Joel, he hurt his knee in the Indiana game. Like, that’s real. … I’m sure he is hurt.”
The PPP also outlines a preference for any star player’s one-game absences to occur in home games rather than road games, when opposing fans often purchase tickets to see said player.
Embiid has now missed four consecutive road games against the Nuggets. Among all NBA players who have appeared in at least one game this season, Embiid has gone the longest since his last game in Denver (Nov. 8, 2019). The Nuggets and Sixers will not face off again this season unless they both reach the NBA Finals.
“We were looking forward to our guys going against their guys,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “So definitely, it was a little bit of a letdown to hear so late.”
Malone’s focus after the win was on crediting the shorthanded 76ers for giving the full-strength Nuggets such a competitive nail-biter, with Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris also out. When asked about the disappointment of learning Embiid’s status so late, Malone chose not to criticize Denver’s opponent.
“Nick Nurse coaches the Philadelphia 76ers. I have no idea what’s going on in their locker room,” he said. “I used to work for a guy, (former coach) Don Chaney. And one of the opposing teams was making comments about our team, and Don said, ‘Well, he’s got my vote for Coach of the Year because he can coach his team and my team.’ I’m not gonna do that. Yes, it was a big letdown for the national TV audience not to get Nikola-Embiid. But I just want our guys to play well. So the two positives today: We won, and nobody got hurt.”
Jokic, who spearheaded the Nuggets with 26 points and 16 rebounds, said he didn’t personally feel let down by the last-second development. He emphasized that more attention should be lent to Philadelphia backup center Paul Reed, who led all scorers with 30 points.
“I think Paul Reed played really good for them, and we need to give him credit,” Jokic said. “… I think he needs to deserve, in this moment, more time than Joel.”
The matchup between Denver and Philly was marketed by the NBA and ESPN as a “rivalry week” showdown between two centers who have combined to win the last three MVPs and are competing for the next one. Embiid leads the NBA in scoring with more than 36 PPG, but after his latest absence in Denver, he can only miss six more games this regular season before losing his eligibility for end-of-year awards including MVP. This is the first season in which players are required to play 20 or more minutes in at least 65 games in order to be eligible.
Jokic and Malone both rejected the idea that Jokic vs. Embiid or Denver vs. Philadelphia is a legitimate rivalry.
“To be honest, media made the rivalry,” Jokic said. “I have nothing against him, and I think he’s a great player. … Even if you’re a basketball, soccer, horse-racing fan, Denver Nuggets fan, Philadelphia fan, whoever — enemies — I think you need to respect what he is doing.”
“No disrespect to what (the NBA is) trying to create, but I don’t feel it’s a rivalry personally,” Malone said regarding the teams. “They’re in the East. We’re in the West. We play them twice a year. We’ve yet to play them in the playoffs, obviously the NBA Finals. But I think rivalry week, they’re trying to create something between Joel and Nikola, and I get that.”
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