The NBA needs to seriously reconsider its 65-game awards rule after Joel Embiid's latest injury

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win! Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you for taking the time.

Let’s talk about this 65-game rule in the NBA. Yes, we’re doing this again.

A couple of weeks ago I said Embiid was the only player who could stop him from winning MVP at this point. That remains true today. The only thing that could stop the big man from going back-to-back was him getting injured.

That’s exactly what happened against the Warriors on Tuesday night. Embiid went down late with an injury after Jonathan Kuminga dove for a loose ball and took Embiid’s knee out in the process, which was a terrible play by the Warriors’ forward. I get that you’re trying to win a game and the rule is always the first to the floor gets the ball. But you’ve just got to be more careful than that.

That aside, Embiid didn’t look right the entire game. He fell down while going for a rebound once after not being touched by anyone. He also rolled his ankle, too. It’s clear now that he was never “ducking” anyone, as some on the internet will tell you.

READ MORE: Everything we know about Embiid’s late scratch against the Nuggets

Now, the 76ers are in a bind. Embiid’s latest injury is unrelated to his previous one. We don’t know yet what’s going on with his knee. He’ll have an MRI. We’ll find out soon enough.

But those are the trees. Here’s the forest: The unintended consequences of the NBA’s participation rule are now at the center of two major stories. The league is incentivizing players to get out there and play hurt — even if it might derail their careers.

Joel Embiid did it on Tuesday night against the Warriors in a game that he should never have been in. Tyrese Haliburton has done it, too, this season. And he’s also railed hard against the rule himself, straight up calling it “stupid.”

We’ve got to remember, folks. That rule is tied to awards. But awards aren’t just simply awards in the NBA – they mean money. Players have financial incentives tied to making All-NBA teams, winning MVPs and Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Missing out on that All-NBA spot would mean missing out on a $41 million pay bump if you’re Haliburton. For Embiid, missing out on an All-NBA team or an MVP means failing to prove that he’s worth the deal he already has. There’s an incentive to go out there on a bad knee and give it a go just to make sure you hit those thresholds and prove that you’re one of the best players in the league.

And, look, I get it from the NBA’s perspective. Availability is an ability. Being there is valuable. If you can’t play 65 games then you’re probably not an MVP. Maybe you shouldn’t make an All-NBA team.

But voters already parsed that out themselves. It was already rare to see a player who couldn’t play a certain amount of games win any of those awards. The NBA made a hard and fast rule about it so now there’s the constant push for the superstar to get out there.

Do you want to be healthy or do you want the money? You choose.

But now, the NBA is constantly nudging the injured superstar to get back as soon as possible regardless of the consequences. In just half a season, we’ve already seen how wrong that can go.

The O’s sold

After 30 long years the Orioles will finally be under new management, the Baltimore Banner reports.

John Angelos agreed to sell the team to an ownership group led by David Rubenstein, the co-founder of the Carlyle Group,  Michael Arougheti and Orioles’ legend Cal Ripken for $1.725 billion (!!!!).

Peter Angelos, the 94-year-old patriarch of the family, moved to sell the team with his health deteriorating, the Banner writes.

“Peter Angelos, 94, has owned a majority stake in the Orioles since 1993, but his son, John, has been the designated “control person” due to Peter’s age and declining health. Peter has advanced dementia, according to court documents, but his health status is currently unknown.

According to court documents, Peter Angelos intended for the team to pass to his wife, Georgia, and for her to sell it upon his death so she ‘could enjoy the great wealth they had amassed together.’ He left the decision up to Georgia. A call to her attorney had not been returned as of Tuesday evening.”

This was shocking news, but it’s certainly good news for Orioles fans. It’s good to be weary of private equity in sports, of course, but Rubenstein has ties to Maryland. So does Ripken. It would seem that the new group has every intention of leaving the team in Baltimore, full stop.

O’s fans should be happy today. Let’s just hope this new group is more Steve Cohen and less, well, the rest of the MLB.

Why the mesh concept is so unstoppable

Mesh concepts are so valuable to the NFL’s modern offenses.

You’ve seen them run a million times if you’ve watched any NFL football in your life on Sunday. You’ve likely heard color commentators break them down over and over and over again. It’s essentially the pick-and-roll game of the NFL. So many teams use them. There’s a reason for that: They’re seemingly unstoppable.

Our Christian D’Andrea developed is working on a series explaining exactly what makes them that. You absolutely need to check this out today.

Here’s a bit of a taste:

“That’s the beauty of the mesh concept; it’s timeless in offenses, ranging from the run-heavy early NFL to pass-heavy, air-it-out era in which we’re currently thriving. Simple in its execution and perpetually difficult to stop. It creates space for vital gains while breeding confusion near the line of scrimmage.

The forward pass became a staple of gridiron football in 1906. Mesh wasn’t far behind; the lure of mashing two defenders into each other proved too tempting for even the simplest coaches to pass up.

The mesh concept is easy enough to help inexperienced quarterbacks thrive playing freshman football. It’s difficult enough to stop that you’ll see All-Pros execute it in prime time until the death of the universe.”

READ MORE: The timeless, unstoppable offensive strategy that is the mesh concept

Quick hits: It’s that time of year again! … The NFL is so mean to the media … and more

— It’s cryptic LeBron tweet season, folks! Charles Curtis has more here.

— Andrew Joesph has more on the NFL sticking its media for the Super Bowl in two of the worst Las Vegas hotels

— Even Colin Cowherd thinks some of y’all complain too much about Taylor Swift.  Here’s Charles again.

— Here’s Mary Clarke on everything we know about the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal. This is so gross, man.

— Doc Rivers could coach in the NBA All-Star game. Wouldn’t that be something? Bryan Kalbrosky has more.

— Prince Grimes has you covered on 38 states you can legally bet on the Super Bowl in.

That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for reading. Tap in with us again tomorrow. Until then! Peace.

-Sykes