Turner's hot take on guarding Embiid doesn't hold water

Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner. Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

Myles Turner's hot take on guarding Joel Embiid doesn't hold water

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 7/15/23

Earlier this week, Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner stated that 2022-23 NBA MVP Joel Embiid was easier to defend than multi-time MVP Nikola Jokic. However, when examining the matchups between the two, Turner's hot take begins to lose steam.

Turner implied on Gilbert Arenas' podcast, "Gil's Arena," that it was possible to silence the skillset of Embiid while Jokic's well-round game was virtually unstoppable.

"Embiid, you can control a little more," Turner said. "Jokic, it's like there's stuff that's out of your control."

Turner and Embiid have matched up against one another 13 times, with the Sixers star averaging 29.3 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists, per StatMuse.

Meanwhile, Turner has also fouled out in three games against Embiid and the Sixers, with the most recent occurrence happening this past season. In the Pacers' 147-143 loss to the Sixers on March 6, Turner lasted only 17 minutes before fouling out, way below his season average (29.4). Conversely, Embiid went off in the victory, posting 42 points on 11-of-16 shooting.

For comparison's sake, in one less game against Turner, Jokic averaged 24.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists and the Pacers' big man fouled out only once.

Turner doesn't seem to have any kind of beef with Embiid, and the tone of his comments didn't come off as disrespectful. However, his argument boils down to Jokic being a unicorn on the hardwood, while Embiid, well, isn't.

While that might be true, there's no denying that the reigning MVP has gotten the better of Turner nearly every time they've faced off.

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