The individual success of a franchise player is not synonymous with success for his NBA team. And of course his examples Trae Young and Joel Embiid with Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers respectively.
The two, current emblems of their franchises and the main focus of their teams’ offensive play, They carry historic statistical streaks in the matches of the last weeks. However, The Hawks are suffering through a disappointing campaign in the Eastern Conference while The Sixers are closing in on the leaderBoston Celtics.
Embiid signed his thirteenth straight game with at least 30 points and 10 reboundsstaying on the field despite discomfort from a sprained left ankle to hit Philadelphia’s 121-111 win over Toronto Raptors.
we’re talking about all the stars. 😏
⭐️@Tobias31 33 PTS | 8 REB | 7 AST
⭐️@JoelEmbiid 31 PTS | 10 REB | 9 AST
⭐️@TyreseMaxey 33 PTS | 4 REB | 10 AST
⭐️ VOTE: https://t.co/gI3jhXlcyd@PALottery pic.twitter.com/17zlZJGvqu— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) December 23, 2023
Young simultaneously achieved his sixth straight game with at least 30 points and 10 assistsbut that didn’t stop Atlanta falls to visiting Miami 122-113 despite Jimmy Butler’s absence from the local team.
Still trying to find the words to describe Duncan’s 4th quarter. Just look what happened 🎥 pic.twitter.com/KxVgunen4q
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 23, 2023
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The Embiid thing is the Second longest 30-point, 10-rebound streak by a player in the NBA since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1971-1972, with 16 such encounters. This from Kareem led to an 11-5 record for the Milwaukee Bucks, who would later be a conference finalist that season. Philadelphia is 11-2 on this brilliant stretch by Embiid which is starting to make him an MVP candidate again.
Embiid averages 37.6 points and 12.3 rebounds since Nov. 19, with three shutouts in between (Philadelphia lost those three games by six points or more). The only negative is that studies should be done on the condition of his ankle, yes see if he’s fit to play against the Miami Heat on Christmas Day.
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For Young’s part, his work has even greater historical resonance in isolation: it was just one game away from longest streak in game history with 30 points and 10 assistsrecord he has Oscar Robertson since the 1964-1965 campaign and which even Michael Jordan came close to in 1989 (five games), but fell short of even Young’s current six.
Trae can tie the streak this Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies, but what he needs most is to get Atlanta to win because His Hawks aren’t even in the Play-In right nowwith a tally of 12 wins and 16 losses which leaves them eleventh in the East.
In the midst of this streak Young started on December 13, Atlanta won three games (Toronto, Houston and Cleveland) and lost three more (Miami, Cleveland and Toronto) and the franchise’s month is completely negative, with three wins and seven losses.
Young averages 33.1 points and 13.3 assists during his streak, with 50% fielding efficiency. Atlanta can’t expect more from him on offense, but The Hawks have an urgency to develop on defense: in the last six games they have allowed between 122 and 135 points on five occasions and They are the third most points per game team in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks play at the same pace of possession, but allow three fewer points per game – and the Wisconsin team is far from brilliant on defense.
