Joel Embiid has taken over as the MVP favorite over the last few weeks. He has been dominant. He has averaged 33.9 points 9.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists. And the Nuggets hitting a rough patch over that same stretch, including a 4 game-losing streak, has put Embiid atop the MVP ladder and rightfully so I may add. Giannis and the Bucks, on the other hand, have only lost 3 games since Jan 23 which included a 16-game winning streak. With Embiid's dominance and the Bucks' dominance in the calendar year of 2023, Jokic has been kind of a forgotten man. However, he can make some serious noise these next couple of days as the Nuggets face off tonight vs the Bucks and face off vs the 76ers on Monday. It would be huge for Jokic to win both these games and play well vs his MVP counterparts. I don't think he has a chance to jump Embiid for MVP even if he wins these 2 games given the fact that Embiid has been on a tear for almost a month now and I believe it is a huge factor that he has not won an MVP yet. So I believe a tight race between Jokic, Giannis, and Embiid would result in Embiid getting an MVP since he hasn't won one yet. So these games are not about whether Jokic can take the lead for MVP or not. For me, Jokic and the Nuggets must beat 2 of the best teams in the league that feature 2 of the best players. I do believe that Giannis, Embiid, and Jokic are 3 of the best players in the league today. Luka is a close 4th behind them. It would do so much for Jokic's confidence to beat MVP candidates on back-to-back games. It would also do the Nuggets some good to beat these teams as well because if they have Championship aspirations, they are going to have to beat one of these teams to meet their goal. So far they are 0-2 vs these teams. They lost to the Bucks earlier this season but Jokic did not play so that is no big deal. But the game that left me with a sour taste was the matchup vs Philly earlier in the season when Embiid dominated Jokic dropping 47 and 18 on him and Jokic was guarding him a lot of the time as well. I feel like this is the perfect time for Jokic to get even with him in front of his crowd in Ball Arena. Let's see if the Serbian Stud can get it done.
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