The 76ers may have just adopted the lamest strategy to try and increase crowd energy in the playoff series against the Nets.
Is there any contraption in sports more mesmerizing than the Jumbotron? Look up and behold its massive presence in the sky as a menacing omen of the digital future or a shameless exhibit of awkward PDA or, in the 76ers’ case, a pitiful method to drum up fan energy in the NBA playoffs.
The Jumbotron at Wells Fargo Center is capable of many things: displaying scores, showing famous celebrities, and even running DeVonta Smith out of town. It knew before anybody else did.
It also has been used to boost the playoff atmosphere in tense matchups such as Game 1 of the Philadelphia 76ers–Brooklyn Nets series in the first round of the NBA postseason.
Now, Philly hardly needed the crowd to beat the Nets on Saturday, shooting 3-point dagger after dagger to obliterate James Harden’s old team, 121-101. Yet the saddest part of the game wasn’t Brooklyn’s outmatched and incompetent defense, it was the fact that the 76ers’ Jumbotron at one point displayed a graphic telling fans to chant “MVP” when Joel Embiid was at the free throw line.
That’s something the Sacramento Kings would pull, not a serious playoff contender like the 76ers. Do better.
76ers are trying too hard to make “’23 MVP Joel Embiid” happen
Philadelphia got the dominant win they needed in the first game of the series, but that Jumbotron tactic just reeks of desperation. Do fans at Chase Center need help screaming “MVP” at the top of their lungs when Steph is at the line? Do the fans in Milwaukee need a nudge to cheer on Giannis?
It’s unclear whether the 76ers decided to put up that MVP graphic because fans weren’t rooting loudly enough for Embiid, or whether the franchise just wanted to give the star center more exposure in the MVP race.
Embiid was named a finalist for the NBA’s MVP award for a third straight season competing against Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic. He led the league in scoring at 33.1 points per game and dropped 26 in Game 1 despite the Nets’ heavy coverage; one could easily make an argument for why Embiid deserves the award this year, though the line of reasoning is much more salient for Sixers fans.
There’s no clear-cut reason why Philadelphia wouldn’t cheer for Embiid as a future reigning MVP, so what’s up with the graphic? Why state the obvious? Are 76ers fans not having a good time at home games?
In any case, Philly has more pressing issues to attend to other than the desperate displays on their arena’s Jumbotron. The 76ers are looking to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001, and best believe MVP candidate Joel Embiid will help get them there, with or without his fans’ vocal support.