NBA games of the week: All-Star Starters

Sunday, Jan. 28: Philadelphia at Oklahoma City, 6:00 p.m. ET

All-Star starter: Joel Embiid

Say what you want about Embiid. Online he’s a troll and on the court he talks a ton of trash. The injury and precautions placed on him by the Sixers will always loom large over Embiid’s career until he plays through them. Bill Simmons brought up an interesting point that since Embiid doesn’t usually play back-to-backs or even practice, it allows him to go all out in games he does play because he doesn’t have to play smart with another matchup coming.

But there are tradeoffs to Simmons’ point as well. Because Embiid doesn’t play every game and isn’t available to practice, his ability to play into the same shape as other players isn’t there. Still, when he’s in the game, he’s a beast. He anchors a team with the third-best defense in the league and several times a game an opposing player aborts a drive because Embiid is lurking around the paint.

Next: 25-under-25 -- The best young players in the NBA

As a team, the Sixers still cough up big leads, and it was no different against the Bucks last week. Embiid is a turnover machine at times, and, while he’s getting better at it, he doesn’t always recognize the incoming double teams. The Sixers are now the sixth seed in the East and are only two games behind the Cavs in the loss column. The Sixers won’t win the Finals this year, but they’re certainly a playoff team.