Joel Embiid doesn’t want any blame for the Philadelphia 76ers’ failures in their semifinal series against the New York Knicks. And after their defeat in Game 3, they took the path of conspiracy to escape from it.
Friday was a must-win scenario for Embiid and the 76ers. They entered last night’s Game 3 up 2-0, having lost a lot of confidence after the Game 7 win over the Boston Celtics in the quarterfinals. With the return of the seven-time All-Star after missing Game 2 and some home support, Philly was in a better position to get its first W of the series.
However, after a strong first quarter and an early lead, the Knicks took control of the game in the second quarter and never relinquished it the rest of the night. While there are many who could take the blame for going 3-0, Embiid doesn’t want to take any of it.
After Game 1, he tried to put responsibility on the referees and accused the Knicks of dirty play. Unsurprisingly, he is also blaming the referees for the Game 3 failure. Yet, he has now gone beyond claiming poor performance by officials and is taking the path of conspiracy.
Joel Embiid: ‘I think it’s good when New York wins’
Embiid said when asked about officiating after Game 3, “They shot 32 free throws, we had 16. We’re not a team that shoots a lot of threes. We attack, put the ball on the floor. I don’t know.” “I think it’s good when New York wins, so we’ve got to have a mentality of not fouling. Being smart enough to not put ourselves in a position where they can take advantage of it.”
Of course, it must be the case that the league just wants the Knicks to advance and reach the NBA Finals. It can’t be that he was 3-11 in 14 minutes and .24 when he was on the floor in Game 1. Or that he missed Game 2 because of his lame body. Or that he let Tyrese Maxey take the lead in Game 3 instead of taking 17 shots and being -9 when he clearly wasn’t hot.
Making matters worse is Embiid’s avoidance of blame for the 76ers’ 3-0 series loss, becoming a viral sensation for his flop-a-thon in Game 3 on Saturday. The one-time NBA MVP is already an elite player. Taking responsibility for losses and being a leader makes him one of the least-liked stars in the NBA.
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