The Philadelphia 76ers just underwent a colossal choke job. They blew a coveted 3-2 lead over the 2nd seed Boston Celtics in embarrassing fashion. On today’s episode of First Take, Stephen A Smith did not hold back. Not one bit. He was rather vivid in his criticism of James Harden and Joel Embiid, after all, he expected the 76ers to win the NBA title.
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And no discredit to him whatsoever, it looks as though the 76ers bit off more than they could chew. But the manner of defeat yesterday night highlighted a long and festering problem, a lack of responsibility. When players need to step up, they didn’t.
James Harden shot rather poorly, only scoring 9 points. That is beyond lowly by even his standards. Joel Embiid fared no better. The newly coronated league MVP scored an abysmal 15 points tonight. He becomes the first-ever MVP to not reach a Conference Final.
A lot of questions are going to be asked in Philly over the coming weeks and months. But before all that they rightly deserve a little verbal barrage from sports analysts, Stephen A Smith has the mic.
“Panic had set in before Ultimate Resignation”: Stephen A Smith is disappointed in his pick for NBA title winners
Yes, Stephen A Smith picked the Philadelphia 76ers to win it all this year. He felt that Joel Embiid would rise to the occasion and that even James Harden would vanquish his Playoff demons. For a while, it looked like that. Both were playing great basketball.
James Harden even scored a ton of points and led the 76ers twice in Joel Embiid’s absence. But there were some notable cracks and the Celtics were too overpowering.
Speaking on First Take, Stephen A Smith unleashed a verbal barrage over them. From the get-go, he was unforgiving. He said,
“I wanted a game 7, I expected a game 7. I thought it was gonna be some real competition that took place in Boston. I Didn’t Expect To see a romp. I Didn’t Expect To see a choke job, I didn’t expect to see a whole bunch of stuff, but dammit, that’s what we got.“
A vivid and rather expressive Stephen A Smith didn’t hold back. He talked a lot about the Philly team and said, “looked like panic had set in before ultimate resignation” powerful words that will echo the sentiments of fans worldwide.
At the same time, the brothers from Philadelphia fell, and a Celtic rose.
Jayson Tatum lit up the 76ers in a historic showcase
Jayson Tatum was the man of the moment last night. He scored 51 points and collected 13 rebounds with it. He also dished out 6 assists and stole the ball twice!
Tatum did it all. He set the record for most points in a game 7 and he was the first player in NBA history to record 50 points in a playoff game without a single turnover. Monstrous. There was no answer for Jayson.
And his performance has sent shockwaves throughout Philly. No doubt there will be changes. And no doubt, other sportscasters like Stephen A Smith will be livid.
