Joel Embiid ‘needs another alpha’? Jalen Hurts & Bryce Harper don’t. That’s the difference

In a stinging indictment of Joel Embiid’s strength of character, Doc Rivers on Tuesday asserted that Embiid “need(s) another alpha in the room.”

Rivers spoke Tuesday on Bill Simmons’ podcast, his first public comments since he was fired last month after three years as Embiid’s coach, and he addressed many issues: his own shortcomings late in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals; the challenges of reprogramming shoot-first point guard James Harden; and Embiid’s inability to make his teammates better.

But the “alpha” issue raised the biggest red flag, because three relatively recent moments in Philadelphia sports paint a stark picture of the dissimilarity between Jalen Hurts and Bryce Harper vs. Embiid.

After the Phillies lost Game 6, and the World Series, in Houston, the Phillies’ chummy roster formed a circle of chairs in the corner of the visiting clubhouse. About a dozen not yet showered players held beers and reminisced over their unlikely, unprecedented run to the pennant as the third wild card in the National League. Rhys Hoskins, Kyle Schwarber, and J.T. Realmuto stood out among that group as stars who’d justified their salaries.

Harper stood apart, fuming.

“We didn’t finish it. Doesn’t matter if you’re an 87-win team or a 100-win team, we didn’t get it done.” Harper said this, showered, dressed, and was ready to go.

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His arms were crossed, and his jaw was set, and he had no interest in basking in the accomplishment of losing the World Series. Harper is one of the boys, but he and the boys had lost a game they could have won, and they were two wins from a title, and who knows when the next chance at a title will come?

A little more than two months later, Hurts found himself in a similar situation. He’d played brilliantly in Super Bowl LVII, but he’d fumbled away a touchdown that likely spelled the difference against the Chiefs, and he was in no mood for consolation.

“You either win or you learn,” Hurts said. He, like Harper, was furious.

Both Harper and Hurts accepted responsibility for their team’s failures. Neither Harper nor Hurts addressed their rosters’ shortcomings.

By contrast, after Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Embiid was philosophical and measured. He wasn’t angry. And he said this:

“I can’t win alone. Me and James, we just can’t win alone. That’s why basketball is played five-on-five.”

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That’s not what an alpha says. That’s the opposite of what an alpha says. An alpha makes his team better. Nikola Jokić made his team better, and that’s the biggest reason why the Denver Nuggets won the NBA title Monday.

If there’s a phrase that defines beta energy, then “The other guys aren’t good enough” is that phrase.

To be fair, Embiid, like Hurts and Harper, conceded that he’d not played well enough, either. Of course, that was like admitting that he’s tall. It was obvious.

Embiid averaged 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and shot 37.8% in Games 6 and 7. He’d averaged 32.3 points, 11 rebounds, and shot 44.1% in the three previous games (he’d come back in Game 2 from a knee injury). Embiid’s bad games had nothing to do with his teammates.

Harden averaged 11.0 points, 5.0 turnovers, and shot 25.9% in Games 6 and 7. He’d averaged 26.4 points, 2.2 turnovers, and shot 47.2% in the series’ first five games.

The Beta Boys collapsed in Game 6, then choked in Game 7.

That’s why they lost. It had less to do with fired coach Rivers’ latest playoff stumble, Tobias Harris intermittently disappearing, De’Anthony Melton falling off a cliff, or the bench mannequins so often contributing so little.

It’s not that Embiid doesn’t need assertive, talented teammates. Harper had ace Zack Wheeler, Schwarber, Realmuto, and Hoskins. Hurts had Jason Kelce, A.J. Brown, and Darius Slay. But most teams have room for one alpha.

Jokić had a healthy Jamal Murray, who, like Harden, is a lethal offensive player, but it wasn’t Murray who went ballistic on the bench at his slacking teammates in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Heat on Monday. It was Jokić.

In order for that sort of voice to be heard, the speaker must be relatively bulletproof. The speaker must have a refined game. He must play through injury without complaint. He must prepare himself for other teams’ strategies, and he must prepare his body to absorb punishment and injury.

Hurts hits the VersaClimber at the team facility at midnight, which is about the time Embiid’s logging on to his online video game. Harper’s a Pilates addict who eats so clean his innards shine and he starts working out at 5 a.m., which is about the time Embiid’s finishing his third Shirley Temple and getting ready for bed.

Hurts played through a shoulder injury and needed ankle surgery after the Super Bowl. Harper hit .349 with six homers and an 1.160 OPS in the playoffs, coming off thumb surgery and playing with a torn ligament in his right elbow.

Hurts is bulletproof. Harper is bulletproof. Embiid is not.

This can be learned behavior. Jokić learned to be an alpha. Embiid can learn, too.

All he has to do is follow the examples of the two most important athletes in his own backyard.