NBA Power Rankings Week 17: A new number one and a lot of injuries

Last Week: Beat Dallas Mavericks 113-95, Beat Brooklyn Nets 123-117, Beat LA Clippers 106-103

This Week: 4/19 vs. Golden State Warriors, 4/21 vs. Phoenix Suns, 4/22 at Milwaukee Bucks, 4/24 at Milwaukee Bucks

Joel Embiid is back and he heard that there may be a new MVP favorite because of his injury issues. That was a personal insult to him and he is back to statistical dominance. In three games this week, he averaged 37.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He will be the first one to tell you that he plays both sides of the ball at a high level. If this is the level of play Embiid is going to bring to the table over the next month, the race for the MVP is far from over.

Embiid is not the only Philadelphia 76er worth talking about. Furkan Korkmaz was the third-leading scorer on the team this week (15.7 points per game), knocking down 45.8 percent of his 8.0 3-point attempts per game. Ben Simmons, the actual Defensive Player of the Year favorite on the team, stuffed the stat sheet with a line of 12.3 points, 7.3 assists, 6.3 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

The truth about the Eastern Conference is being laid bare. It is easier to fawn over the Brooklyn Nets with their star-studded roster generating far more headlines. However, the Philadelphia 76ers have been a step ahead of them to this point and no one on their team is able to handle Embiid, as evidenced by his 39-point, 13 rebound performance against Brooklyn this week.