Philadelphia 76ers Rumors
Christian Clark: JJ Redick on the TNT guys’ criticism of former teammate Joel Embiid: “Saw a headline on ESPN. Heard a little bit of dialogue last night. I had the game on mute because Webber was doing it.”
Joel Embiid declared Thursday morning that Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal were right: He needed to start looking to dominate games. He didn’t waste time taking their advice to heart. In a spectacular performance at TD Garden on Thursday night, Embiid had 38 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and a monstrous block of Daniel Theis in the final seconds, propelling his Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-109 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Afterward, Sixers coach Brett Brown wanted to let the Hall of Famers know that, if they get tired of their TV careers, he has a job waiting for them. “I’d like to hire them as motivational coaches,” Brown told ESPN with a huge grin.
“For them to say that I have the potential to be the best player in the world, and I haven’t shown that, and I should let it be shown, that says a lot,” Embiid said afterward. “They’ve been there, they’ve done it, they’re Hall of Famers, so it just shows me I have to play harder and like I can.”
“I actually called Shaq yesterday,” Embiid said. “He thought I was mad at him. I was like, ‘No, I understand what he was saying.’ “I’ve had a bad year so far. I’ve been kinda frustrated, just because you’re not seeing the teamwork and you try to fit in with your new teammates. Just be aggressive … just go out there and just dominate. “Whatever they said, I think it was good for me.”
