Embiid is 3-12 in playoff games against Boston.
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5 hours ago
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3 min read
Joel Embiid had another wasted season with the Philadelphia 76ers, but to make matters worse, the seven-time All-Star also had to endure the pain of watching the rival Boston Celtics win their franchise-record 18th NBA title.
Embiid was eliminated in the first round of the postseason by the New York Knicks a few weeks after returning from a two-month absence due to a torn meniscus. It marked the seventh straight time Embiid and Philadelphia have failed to advance beyond the Eastern Conference semifinals, and instead of congratulating fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum, the 30-year-old Embiid criticized the league's highest-paid player, who signed a $314 million contract with the Celtics earlier this month.
“If we're 5-for-20, we're going to lose big,” Embiid said on The Check-Ball Show.
Tatum clearly didn't have the hot shooting touch that produced his 51-point masterpiece against Embiid and the 76ers in Game 7 of the 2023 semifinals (the most points in a Game 7). Still, criticizing Tatum is a low-hanging fruit move, reminiscent of social media and talk-show trolls. It's willful ignorance to ignore the defensive pressure Tatum got from constant double- and sometimes triple-team coverage throughout the postseason. That's especially bad for Embiid, who, as one of the most dominant centers in the league, is regularly covered by multiple defenders.
“He gets me in trouble for Jason: 'Oh yeah, he's got a super team. If I had a super team, I'd win, too,'” added NBA skills coach Drew Hanlen.
Hanlen, who coaches Embiid in the offseason, has worked with Tatum for years, even before the Duke product was Boston's No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. It's clear that Embiid's frustration, fair but misplaced, was what prompted Philadelphia's front office to spend $211 million to sign eight-time All-Star Paul George and get the 76ers back into championship contention, while Embiid's reasons to complain, make excuses and launch sneaky attacks have run out until further notice.
