Sixers’ Joel Embiid pushes the blame on James Harden as the Heat win Game 6 on Jimmy Butler’s 32, sealing the series 4-2
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The Philadelphia 76ers could not manage to defend their home ground tonight, as the Miami Heat came in and handed them a 99-90 defeat. With this loss, the Sixers are once again out of the playoffs. This marks their second consecutive 2nd round exit in the playoffs.
Joel Embiid, despite his injuries, notched 20 points and 12 rebounds. Tyrese Maxey added another 20. However, James Harden attempted just 9 shots all game long, scoring just 14 points. He went scoreless in the 4th quarter, marking the 2nd straight game where he did so.
This left Embiid frustrated, and he let the same be known, with his post-game comments about his co-star.
“Obviously, since we got him, everybody expected the Houston James Harden, but that’s not who he is anymore. He’s more of a playmaker.”
Joel Embiid on James Harden 😳pic.twitter.com/nfzMkupXvh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 13, 2022
NBA Twitter starts questioning Joel Embiid as the problem
In the last 4 seasons, the Sixers had made 3 Conference Semi-Finals. However, they’ve never been able to advance past that stage. Tonight, the tally went to 4 in 5 seasons. With the loss and Joel’s comments post-game, people started wondering if Embiid is the problem.
Last year, after the Sixers lost Game 7 against the Hawks, he had taken a dig at Ben Simmons too.
Joel Embiid takes a shot at Ben Simmons after the Sixers’ Game 7 loss to the Hawks.
Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons has emerged as the target of fans’ ire after Atlanta Hawks eliminated the Sixers from the NBA playoffs on Sunday.#bensimmons #76ers #Embiid pic.twitter.com/ydshQNYTL7
— Dylan Zhao (@CGTNDylanZhao) June 21, 2021
A Twitter user found the pattern and started questioning the MVP runner-up.
Joel Embiid threw Ben Simmons under the buss last year and James Harden this year. Maybe he’s just a really bad teammate 🤷♂️
— Brooklyn Netcast (@BrooklynNetcast) May 13, 2022
However, he was met with harsh criticism, as people ran to Joel’s defense.
Telling the truth about your teammates poor performance doesn’t make you a bad teammate. He’s very respectful when he toss a teammate under the bus😂 https://t.co/uah4QZ2l6j
— Brendas Baby🖤 (@MrTevon5) May 13, 2022
Lol they just being absolute bums when he needs them the most
10 out of 10 times people would be as frustrated as him in that kind of exits https://t.co/swuA0KwM3M
— J (@asapzeld) May 13, 2022
No, he’s honest and these spoiled NBA players are soft. https://t.co/sHLx3zeke1
— SufferingKnicksFan (@sufferingknicks) May 13, 2022
“How to show you dont watch basketball without saying you dont watch basketball” https://t.co/wVYiHpXfZN
— Try_The_Taco (@polakotaco) May 13, 2022
While Joel being a bad teammate is not for me to say, all I can point out is that you don’t throw a teammate under the bus, no matter how frustrated you are. These things need to be sorted in the locker room, and not in front of the media.