Reports of Tyrese Maxey calling out Joel Embiid for his tardiness in front of the team have polarized the internet. For sure, everyone believes the confrontation is a reflection of how bad things are at the Philadelphia 76ers. Many have criticised it. After all, calling out a star openly would never turn productive. Then there are those, including former Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson, who have praised Maxey, stressing it was about time.
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Much like on social media, Jackson and his podcast guest Dave Snowden Jr., disagreed on Maxey’s method of confrontation. While Snowden claimed that Maxey should’ve talked to Embiid in private, Jackson said doing it in front of the team was important to show that no one is exempt from criticism. Embiid arriving late for meetings and other team events would affect the entire squad, he added.
“If you are my teammate and are late to every event, every practice, and every game, I’m not talking to you individually. You’re doing it in front of everybody. So I’mma hold you accountable in front of everybody respectfully, and I’mma call it out. Leadership has gotta be better, and you have to hold each other accountable if you are to accomplish and achieve the goals we set forth before the season started,” elaborated Jackson.
Also, in Maxey’s defense, the guard did keep the incident within the team and never went to the media. An inside source subsequently leaked the news to Shams Charania.
Jackson then elaborated on leadership, alluding to coach Nick Nurse without naming him. Jackson said if he was the man in charge of the locker room, he would hold Embiid accountable while handling the situation. Jackson spoke about how it is the coach’s responsibility to instil a positive culture in the squad, and holding the star player accountable would help massively with that.
“I gotta responsibility to lead this group and hold guys accountable,” explained Jackson. “If Joel Embiid is not doing the things he’s supposed to be doing, showing up on time and being professional, I gotta hold him accountable the same way I would do everybody else… Across the board, they got issues they need to fix. And we have to address them one by one. But it starts with me as a leader of this franchise, as the head coach controlling and dictating the culture to these 15 guys.”
The Maxey-Embiid drama casts another long shadow on an already poor season for the 76ers. At 2-12, they have the worst record in the league. And the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies just compounded the misery.
The Sixers’ poor season
The 76ers’ start is the worst since the 2015-16 season, when they began 0-14. They ended that campaign with a league-worst record of 10-72. Of course, that squad didn’t have the same expectations on them as the current one.
With Maxey and Embiid, the Sixers were already expected to make waves. And, after adding Paul George to the roster, they became the favorites in the East behind the Boston Celtics. A championship run was also spoken about.
What has transpired is an utter and complete collapse. Their core stars have not stayed healthy, with the trio playing just one game together. The 76ers have been out-hustled almost every game, and Nurse has complained about it as well.
Their troubled season took a turn for the worse last night when George hyper-extended his left knee in their loss to the Grizzlies. It’s the same knee that he injured during pre-season.
Their only bright spot has been rookie Jared McCain, who has been on a tear after getting regular minutes. He’s averaging 15.6 points on 47.5% from the field, and 41% from the three-point range. His energy is infectious too. The Sixers will be hoping the youngster can ease the tensions in the locker room, allowing the stars to turn their fortunes around.
