The 79 Line #2: Stars in danger of being DQ'd from awards
The 79 Line #2: Stars in danger of being DQ'd from awards
You've heard about Joel Embiid and Tyrese Haliburton. Who are the other players in jeopardy of being disqualified from awards? And who are the 9 stars that are ineligible already?
The nightmare scenario happened on Wednesday night. Joel Embiid, playing through a troublesome knee injury that kept out of the previous two games, suited up and injured that same knee again. This time, the 7-footer averaging 35.3 points per game, faces a potential season-ending timetable.
According to injury expert Jeff Stotts, Embiid has torn his left lateral meniscus before. That injury, suffered in the 2016-17 season, caused him to miss 37 games. As Stotts notes, the exact location of the tear will be pivotal in the prognosis, but for reference, there are only 35 games left in the Philly regular-season. If he misses the same time, he won’t be back until the postseason.
Some bodies aren’t built for 82 games. Embiid, at his massive size and history of leg ailments, might be one of them. Here’s what his teammate Kelly Oubre told Sam Amick at The Athletic:
“(You’ve got people) pressuring him to force being great when he’s 300 pounds (and) 7 foot 5?” Oubre said while exaggerating Embiid’s height. “Like, c’mon bro. … I think this year, people will really understand that his whole career he’s been having to make sure his body’s right. This is like NASCAR, right? If their cars ain’t working, and their mechanics ain’t really able to get the job done before the race, then what can they do? They can’t race.
“This is our bodies. Our body is our car and we have to treat it with respect. He’s 350 pounds, bro. So you know, I’m praying for him for a speedy recovery, so he can come in and give himself the best chance. But at the end of the day, that’s not important. His body and his career (are) most important.”
I don’t think he’s 350 pounds, but maybe it’s not too far off. Embiid certainly doesn’t look like he’s in the best shape of his career. The extra weight can’t be helping matters considering his injury history. Even if we include the postseason, Embiid’s body hasn’t lasted more than 78 games in any one season, averaging 63.9 games. While it’s theoretically possibly he could have played more if his team advanced in the postseason, Embiid’s deteriorating health has been a significant factor in those shorter runs.
Because of the NBA’s new 65-game rule, Embiid can only miss four more games before he’s disqualified from the MVP and All-NBA races. He has only played 72.3 percent of his games this season, which is well below The 79 Line that I outlined last month. Players need finish at 79 percent of games played in order to be eligible for the award.
In other words, Embiid is on target to be NBA history’s first reigning MVP to be categorically disqualified from eligibility.
It’s not just MVP and All-NBA honors that Embiid is missing out on. Players need to play a minimum of 65 games in order to be eligible for Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player and All-Defense as well.
A reminder: if a player is trending above 79 percent of games played, they’re on target to be eligible. If they’re sitting below the 79 percent line, things need to turn around or else they miss the cut.
Just as we did last month, let’s run through the players using the guideline of the NBA’s definition of a star (a player who was named to All-Star or All-NBA player in the past three seasons). I’ve put an asterisk to a player that was not defined by the NBA as a “star” under the PPP but is in the conversation for a major award. (Deepest condolences if you don’t see Your Favorite Award Candidate listed below).
I’ve slotted them into four categories:
🤩 Safe (39 players)
😅 Barely 79% (9 players)
🚨 The Sub-79% (5 players)
🚫 Already DQ’d (8 players)
So, with The 79 Line in mind, let’s find out who’s makes the cut …