The annual salary of 55.22 million is the second in the league, which brings the team to collapse! The NBA’s fastest-regressing MVP, you should probably leave

Two weeks into the new NBA season, the overall pattern of the East and West is highlighted by the word "chaos". The Thunder set a historical record with eight consecutive wins in the opening game. Alexander is heading towards the second MVP of his career, but the teams behind him have lessons that are difficult to learn. Although the Lakers have won 6 of their last 7 games, they are also plagued by injuries. At the same time, the team will also face the team's formation problems after James returns; the Rockets went from two consecutive losses at the beginning to four consecutive wins, and the team has gradually found a symbiotic play system between Durant and young people. Surprisingly, when Durant is on the court, the Rockets beat their opponents by 10.6 points per 100 possessions; when Durant is not on the court, the Rockets beat their opponents by 17.4 points per 100 possessions! This must be what fans want to see most: Durant is only responsible for raising the ceiling and not destroying the growth space and tacit understanding of young people.

To put it simply, the core of a team either determines the upper limit or ensures the lower limit of the team. Just like Harden in the past few seasons, no matter how bad the team's situation is, he can always lead the team to the playoffs. But have you ever seen someone, as the core player, bring the team to its knees? There’s one example this season: Embiid. Throughout the offseason, the 76ers were not favored by the outside world at all. The US media generally believed that the injuries of Embiid and George would make the 76ers decide to rebuild quickly in advance. But after the start of the regular season, the 76ers defeated the Celtics + Hornets + Magic + Wizards in the first 6 games. After losing to the Celtics by 1 point, they defeated the Nets. At this stage, Maxi averaged 34 points per game, driving Oubre + No. 3 pick Edgecombe + Grimes to explode.

In the most recent game between the 76ers and the Bulls, they led by 24 points but suffered a huge reversal! As the nominal core of the team, Embiid played in 5 of the games. When he played less than 23 minutes or was on a truce, the 76ers had 5 wins and 0 losses. When he played more than 25 minutes, the 76ers were 0-2. In fact, during the 76ers' first four-game winning streak, Embiid was very dissatisfied and believed that he played too little time. When he was given a chance, how did he perform? When he met the Celtics again, Embiid scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers on 6-of-13 shooting, with the lowest plus-minus among the starters. In the battle with the Bulls, Embiid played 26 minutes, made 7 of 21, scored 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks, including 6 free throws, for a total of 27 shots and 20 points. The true shooting rate was disappointing.

Advanced data doesn't lie: When Embiid is on the court this season, the team loses to its opponents by 5.3 points per 100 possessions; when he is not on the court, the team outscores its opponents by 13.1 points per 100 possessions; the On-Off value is -18.4, and the WS effective win contribution value is only a pitiful 0.2! At the center position, this is already the bottom 20% of the league! For another comparison, when Embiid + Edgcomb + Maxey + Oubre + Edwards were on the court at the same time, the 76ers lost their opponents by 43.5 points per 100 possessions. If Embiid is replaced by Drummond, the lineup of Maxi + Oubre + Grimes + Edgecombe will beat the opponent by 40.4 points per 100 rounds! Even if Zhuang Shen is replaced by Bona, the 76ers still beat their opponents by 36.5 points per 100 rounds! Why is the gap so huge?

Take the Bulls' 24-point reversal as an example. Embiid took 21 shots in the game, and he was the team's biggest drag: He stepped on the three-point line to shoot, and continued to ask Maxey for the ball in the next round; Edgecombe grabbed an offensive rebound, Embiid got the ball and continued to hit the ball, but the Bulls counterattacked continuously; Maxey left the court, Embiid held the ball, and the 76ers' offense directly stalled. When Embiid kept reaching for the ball and refused to pass to the open Edgecombe and Maxey, he always thought about one-on-one and let his teammates adapt to his own rhythm. But the result is that Embiid is really not good! He was a beat slower than everyone else on the team. Everyone ran to counterattack, and Embiid couldn't keep up. After Embiid took the shot, his teammates quickly retreated with the opponent, and Embiid was still complaining about the opponent's foul.

Learned from Harden's step back for a three-pointer, followed Jokic's high-post handoff to give his teammates a chance to cut, and followed Durant's example of pulling away and shaking his shot directly, but all failed. When Embiid only shot 1 of 10 in the entire second half, it was understandable that the 76ers were reversed. The 76ers are no longer Embiid's team, and now the boss is Maxi! Edgecombe has integrated seamlessly, and Grimes and Oubre are also very efficient. They only need a blue-collar player who can rebound and fight inside. Can Embiid be satisfied? Obviously, Embiid's giant baby style of play is sucking the blood of the entire team. Embiid's annual salary this season is US$55.22 million, which, like Jokic, is tied for second in the league, second only to Curry's US$59.6 million. However, in terms of on-field value, he cannot even cash in a fraction of his own salary.

From winning the MVP in 2023 to Embiid's ball-handling style that overtaxed his body after Harden left, he suffered from injuries in the past two seasons. Now this season, whenever Embiid plays, he basically has a negative efficiency value, and he has regressed too fast. More and more media believe that if Embiid plays less, the 76ers will perform better? The key is why does Embiid still think that he is the boss and absolute core of the team? If the fight continues like this, Embiid's market situation will get worse and worse, and the transaction may even be reversed. The best way is for the 76ers to send Embiid away as soon as possible this season, even if it means less. Don't delay the growth of young people, leave as soon as possible.