MVP odds move around as Joel Embiid dodges Nikola Jokic in Denver

Joel Embiid will not be going toe-to-toe with Nikola Jokic in a heavyweight battle between the NBA’s best bigs as they fight for the league’s MVP.

Embiid is officially out with a calf injury despite playing both ends of a back-to-back on the west coast earlier this weekend. It’s the 14th time the Philadelphia 76ers star will miss a game this season. No NBA player has won MVP with missing as many or more games since 1977-78 when Bill Walton got the award despite sitting out 24 games.

Jokic has only missed eight games this season and the square-off between him and Embiid, who have each been incredible was supposed to have a big impact on the award’s race. Even with Embiid’s absence, it seems Monday is impacting who will take home the MVP.

Oddsmakers have shifted lines dramatically since the news broke with the lines for both Embiid and Jokic swinging quite violently from minute to minute with less than a month left in the regular season.

Embiid began the week as the MVP favorite at -270, weeks after Jokic was the MVP favorite at -400. Entering the day, Embiid was at -145 for his first trophy and Jokic was at +195 to grab his third-straight.

That shifted at one point to Embiid at +100 and Jokic at +125 for MVP with the two nearly even. And now it’s back to Embiid as the top dog, with odds at -105, but Jokic coming close behind at +115.

It’s the seventh time in the past three years he’s missed a game against Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo, the third of the three top candidates for the MVP. Embiid has not played in Denver since 2019.

The MVP odds will likely to keep shifting throughout Monday and Jokic could put up some huge stats in the game against the 76ers with their banged-up front court. Philly doesn’t have a great backup center, meaning Jokic could very well end up the favorite for MVP again after the game in Denver.

If the two bigs matchup in the NBA Finals this game could actually decide which team gets home court.

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