Doc Rivers protects MVP candidates; Dr. J. weighs in on Joel Embiid, load management

Responding to comments from Hall of Fame coach George Karl, Rivers said there is no need to put down one player to elevate the other.

Sixers head coach Doc Rivers points to his bench against the Chicago Bulls in the first period on Monday, March 20, 2023 in Philadelphia.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published Mar. 20, 2023, 7:39 p.m. ET

Doc Rivers knows there’s a better way to promote MVP candidates.

“I’m going to say this one more time,” he said. “I’m going to try to stay off this subject. Joel [Embiid] is the MVP, but I want to make a point. Can we stop trying to put people down? We should be celebrating different guys in the league.”

Rivers believes Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokić, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum are all great players.

“We don’t need to push one down to elevate the other guy,” he said. “They all are completely different players. They are. Joel, in my opinion, is the best of that, and I don’t think anyone needs me to campaign for him.”

The biggest issue centers around Embiid and Jokić.

Former Denver Nuggets coach and Hall of Famer George Karl made unflattering remarks about Embiid while promoting Jokić to win a third straight MVP.

”I don’t want to bad mouth Embiid because I think he’s really, really good,” Karl said on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “… But he takes too many possessions off. He has lazy body language. He gets angry at things that we don’t understand why. I just don’t know if he’s that NBA pro that we all love because he’s a competitive S.O.B.”

Dr. J on Embiid’s MVP chances

Sixers great and Hall of Famer Julius “Dr. J” Erving and other members of the 1982-83 team will be honored during halftime of Monday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls at the Wells Fargo Center for the 40th anniversary of their NBA championship . Erving, a four-time NBA/ABA MVP, was asked about Embiid’s chances of winning the award.

“I think he’s definitely worthy,” he said. “I think he’s been worthy in the past. … Jokić is formidable. He produced tremendous numbers and his team was leading the [Western] Conference for most of the season, so he’s formidable. Giannis [Antetokounmpo] is formidable and Luka Dončić is formidable, you know one of those four. And it might be Joel’s turn, which would be poetically justifiable.”

Embiid averaged a league-best 33.5 points heading into Monday’s game. He was ninth in rebounds (10.2) and sixth in blocks (1.7). The six-time All-Star also garnered his second straight Eastern Conference player of the week honor on Monday, which was his fourth of the season.

Load management

Erving was the face of the NBA before Magic Johnson and Larry Bird arrived in 1979. Back then, it was a sense of pride to play in as many games as possible. There was no load management.

“I like watching Kawhi Leonard play and Kevin Durant,” Erving said of the current players. “When I was playing, I liked watching Tiny Archibald and George Gervin. If I paid and they weren’t playing a particular night, I would be upset. I would not be a happy camper.

“I imagine some of that, just today, where fans are just like P.J. Tucker is not going to play tonight. P.J. Tucker fans already got their ticket, already committed to go, just got to go there and see my man sitting on the bench.”

Erving noted that Tucker is sidelined because of an injury situation. He’s dealing with a sprained left ankle.

“But load management,” he said, “is a lot to digest.”