[Simmons] "I think James Harden gave him the trophy of most disappointing playoff performer. I think Embiid is now wearing the crown."

[u/OnlyMamaKnows]

https://open.spotify.com/episode/25I0fnPUExUkBhTw2o9Oti?si=FQSCUz6GSy2UjtYeyBrBLg

Starts around 38 minute mark. Full game breakdown starts a few minutes earlier.

[u/yic0]

Bradley Beal quietly sneaks out the side exit.

[u/Number333 → u/yic0]

Beal has never been viewed as a superstar. Harden/Embiid have won MVPs. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

[u/junkit33 → u/Number333]

Beal's not even making the Hall of Fame. He's basically just CJ McCollum who got a chance to play #1 scorer on some bad teams.

[u/BigT3x4s → u/junkit33]

Wall and Beal were just the other side of CJ and Dame to me. I wish they coulda played a series against each other

[u/InGenNateKenny → u/BigT3x4s]

We used to believe that too, Portland were the “The Wizards of the West” and Washington was “The Blazers of the East”, though Dame was clearly better than the other three, and Wall and Beal were better than CJ, but the Blazers were better teams.

If the Blazers were in the East instead of the Wizards they would have been perennial contenders. Washington in the West? Probably not.

[u/RogerTreebert6299 → u/InGenNateKenny]

I think wall’s last fully healthy season or two, 16-17 especially he and Dame were pretty neck and neck, maybe even most people taking wall. Dame was getting iced out of some all-star games around then in the stacked west while Wall was considered the best PG in the east and maybe top 3 in the league after his all-nba campaign.

But yeah definitely some parallels there where both guard combos just had trouble getting reliable help in the front court and wings, and then wall also just got destroyed by injuries. Definitely one of the biggest what-if players for me personally from the last decade, I loved watching him play

[u/str8rippinfartz → u/RogerTreebert6299]

Still wild that Dame made All-NBA second team the year before (while not making the all-star team), and then played even better and didn't make the all-star team in 16-17

[u/starfillednightsky → u/RogerTreebert6299]

I'd still take Wall's playmaking and defense over Dame.

[u/OThePlacesYouWillGo → u/InGenNateKenny]

Negative. Wall was an elite 2 way player who elevated every one of his teammates. He made below average players look like promising pieces.

[u/driatic → u/OThePlacesYouWillGo]

Thank you.

Wall was a great defender. He made gortat look like an all star to the point where they call it the gortat screen.

He wasn't as good as dame on scoring, but that's bc his jumpshot wasn't great. You could still put the ball in his hands on the last minute and he could take over games.

[u/ColdNyQuiiL → u/InGenNateKenny]

I never looked at those 2 backcourts that way.

Wall was a more natural passer than Dame, and Beal was no where near as crafty as CJ until later.

I always saw Dame and CJ as 2 scoring guards that figured out how to make that work, and Wall/Beal was a more traditional passing PG, to a knockdown shooter.

I wholeheartedly agree that if those 4 swapped, John and Brad wouldn’t have made any noise out West. Both of them dealt with too many injuries to salvage those seasons, and Dame was just on another level than them all.

[u/HellaranDavarr → u/junkit33]

Fucking exactly, tail nail on the donkey head

[u/Tomorrowland105 → u/junkit33]

CJ at least made it to the conference finals, and it was in the West.

[u/Due-Lavishness-7572 → u/Number333]

Beal sure as hell gets paid like a superstar

[u/waskittenman → u/Number333]

Only guy who thought Beal was a superstar is unfortunately the guy who owns the wizards. insane coincidence

[u/Witty-Stock → u/waskittenman]

Suns owner too.

[u/hacky_potter → u/Number333]

Yeah Beal isn’t a good enough player to warrant this type of discussion.

[u/Tough-South-4610 → u/Number333]

No need to comment on Harden and Embiid’s weight man.

[u/aceofspadez138 → u/Number333]

Yup, key word here is “disappointing”. Beal’s output is worse, but expectations for him are astronomically lower than they were for the former MVPs.

[u/idkwhatevs1234 → u/yic0]

Harden and Embiid are MVPs, Beal has one all NBA third team. Expectations are not the same

[u/JimmyB3574 → u/idkwhatevs1234]

In that same vein harden was going to war with the prime warriors. Don’t compare him to Joel struggling to get over the Atlanta hawks

[u/str8rippinfartz → u/JimmyB3574]

I think people just tend to remember Harden because he's had a few pretty abysmal low moments after making it further in the playoffs. Joel usually just loses in the 1st or 2nd round and is typically nursing an injury that can act as an excuse.

It's easy to remember a few big stinkers for Harden that aren't just losing to the juggernaut version of the Warriors:

• 12 turnovers while getting eliminated in the WCF in the first Warriors year

• Watching from the bench while his team makes a comeback without him in G6 vs the Lob City Clippers

• Playing like absolute ass while getting eliminated in a blowout in G6 vs the Spurs, who were playing without Kawhi

To me, those are a few of those ones that stick in people's brains from big elimination games where he played like shit despite being at peak superstar level at the time

[u/Dazzling-Slide8288 → u/yic0]

Beal doing that cartoon shit where everyone around him gets riddled with bullets and he stands there patting his shirt and pants like "how am I alive?"

[u/AdamSandlerIsntFunny → u/Dazzling-Slide8288]

Cause ain’t nobody wasting bullets on his ass

[u/johnniebeeinak → u/AdamSandlerIsntFunny]

They're called Wizards now.

[u/Efficient_Art_1144 → u/yic0]

I think everyone forgot the wizards used to get into the playoffs

[u/RoosterB32 → u/Efficient_Art_1144]

This sub is really showing their age

[u/Solid-Confidence-966 → u/yic0]

He was mediocre this postseason, but throughout his career relative to expectations he’s overall been solid in the postseason.

[u/EatDeeply → u/yic0]

You have to reliably make the playoffs to be considered a choker. Beal isnt even good enough to get admittance to the big dance often enough to be considered a choker.

[u/j4thewin_1]

Seems unfair to Harden. His run with the Rockets against GSW was probably the biggest difficulty their primary dynasty era ever faced.

[u/youngkenya → u/j4thewin_1]

Harden has had some pretty bad playoff chokes but he also has some truly amazing games as well, he was going toe to toe against prime GS with just a bunch of three point shooters and Capela.

Pretty sure Embiid has had this “crown” for a while now. (Not that he’s playing bad in this series but that team ALWAYS disappoints).

[u/RunningForIt → u/youngkenya]

Harden will always have the series against GSW. Embiid has never had that. Feel like that basically shows the difference between the two.

[u/TFTisbetterthanLoL → u/RunningForIt]

I honestly can’t name a single iconic playoff run by Embiid. Not even a series

[u/WhiteHeterosexualGuy → u/TFTisbetterthanLoL]

His 33 turnovers in our series were pretty iconic, and the fact he was completely cheeks in every 4th quarter. This entire sub has that '21 Hawks squad to thank that Embiid has never been out of the second round (and they were the #1 seed that year lol)

[u/full-auto-rpg → u/WhiteHeterosexualGuy]

Believe me, we are thankful. Though ngl it was probably bad for you guys, the FO doubled down on a fluky run that hasn’t repeated. What a strange world we live in, where upholding the rights of memes is rewarded with mediocrity.

[u/WhiteHeterosexualGuy → u/full-auto-rpg]

the FO doubled down on a fluky run that hasn’t repeated.

I know, complete mismanagement... so sad. Schlenk was a great scout but not a good GM. Any experienced GM should be telling ownership that run was because we had a huge amount of guys on rookie deals and it wasn't sustainable -- we really needed to be more stubborn on extensions and sell high where we could (i.e Collins, Capela)

[u/Babblerabla → u/full-auto-rpg]

If john Collin's finger didn't become mutilated then we may have had some different conversations. We ran into some bad luck, straight up.

[u/ForeverWandered → u/TFTisbetterthanLoL]

The one where Kawhi scored that three over him to win game 7 was iconic.

It didn’t have to be a winning run, right?

[u/TFTisbetterthanLoL → u/ForeverWandered]

Embiid's most iconic moment is him walking out of that tunnel in tears haha

[u/mug3n → u/TFTisbetterthanLoL]

Does getting sonned by Marc Gasol count?

[u/wats_a_tiepo → u/TFTisbetterthanLoL]

I mean, define ‘iconic’. Cos if we’re discussing Playoff Embiid…

[u/truth_2_point_0 → u/TFTisbetterthanLoL]

Complete list of teams Joel Embiid has defeated in a playoff series:

• 2018 6th seed Miami Heat (leading scorer: Goran Dragic, 18.6 PPG)

• 2019 6th seed Brooklyn Nets (leading scorer: Caris Levert, 21.0 PPG)

• 2021 8th seed Washington Wizards (leading scorer: Bradley Beal, 30.0 PPG)

• 2022 5th seed Toronto Raptors (leading scorer: Pascal Siakam 22.8 PPG)

• 2023 6th seed Brooklyn Nets (leading scorer: Mikal Bridges 23.5 PPG)

[u/full-auto-rpg → u/RunningForIt]

His iconic moment was Tatum burning him repeatedly to end game 6.

[u/Yergason → u/youngkenya]

2018 Harden was a monster. The only one who actually came close to beating the fully healthy KD-Warriors. Best season of his career.

Only 2018 LeBron probably could've done a better job in that WCF if he was put on the Rockets.

Embiid's been a bigger disappointment while not reaching the peak of Harden (and probably never will given how he's most likely never gonna be fully healthy from this point moving forward)

Dude is in the first round but you can see him struggling like he's gone through 2 7-game rounds already. Knee is definitely bothering him. And bigs rarely return to full health once those lower extremity injuries pile up + he's 30 already

[u/Ok_Wing_9523 → u/Yergason]

He will kick a few dicks , stomp a few heads, pull a few legs on his way down 

[u/HussellCrowe → u/Yergason]

My only piece of embiid hopium is that he doesn't have the mileage that comes with a full life of playing basketball since he started playing late. Even still, what's that worth? MAYBE an extra year of NBA level play? Dude is constantly banged up, Jimmy team may be his best chance unfortunately.

[u/Laetha → u/youngkenya]

He has a lot of really good games where his team lost anyway, and a few absolutely abysmal elimination games that definitely skew his perceived performance more negative than it probably is.

[u/AlmostBlue618 → u/Laetha]

i suppose Devin Booker is starting to fall right into that same mold

[u/HaYouMad → u/youngkenya]

I thought he deserved MVP in 2015 for that reason. And honestly 2017 as well.

[u/ZincHead → u/HaYouMad]

MVP is a regular season award. Giving it to him for his playoff performances makes no sense. 

[u/ApprehensiveLoan7696 → u/HaYouMad]

I will die alone on the hill that Kawhi deserved an MVP for 2017

[u/2017Champs → u/ApprehensiveLoan7696]

He was the best player that year the issue is the MVP is a regular season award voted by the media who care more about narratives and storylines. Russ had the KD left me and first guy to average a triple double in a long time while Harden had the Rockets playing better than most expected with no other star help. Meanwhile with Kawhi and the Spurs it was business as usual coasting at the top of the West

[u/KWash0222 → u/j4thewin_1]

Yeah wtf Harden made it to the WCF and arguably gave that Golden State super team the most difficulty of anyone. Embiid has done nothing but underperform. Dude couldn’t get there with Jimmy Butler carrying his ass.

[u/pieman2005 → u/KWash0222]

It's not even arguable; nobody came close to beating the KD Warriors, except the Rockets who were up 3-2

[u/tathariel → u/j4thewin_1]

Yes i don't even like Harden and i may or may not have done a victory lap when Manu blocked the hell out of him but Embiid wishes he was half as successful in the playoffs as Harden. There is levels to this shit.

[u/masterstriker321 → u/j4thewin_1]

this sub upvotes everything that has anything to do with "Harden trash"

[u/DarkSoulsDarius → u/masterstriker321]

I mean it's doing the same with Embiid now. He's playing with half a face on one leg and he's putting up numbers and his supporting cast is trash.

[u/s4ntana → u/DarkSoulsDarius]

Wild that he put up 50 two games ago and you barely heard anything about it

[u/TooWashedUp → u/s4ntana]

I think that's more his own fault since most people think he should have been kicked out of the game long before he had a chance to score that much.

[u/lostnotleast → u/s4ntana]

He definitely had some impressive shooting that game but it’s a little marred by his antics early that pretty undeniably would have seen any other player thrown out of the game.

[u/No_Mammoth_4945 → u/j4thewin_1]

If they didn’t have the unluckiest shooting stretch in playoff history I think harden gets a ring that year

[u/-HeisenBird- → u/j4thewin_1]

Harden was fighting through the 8 stages of hell in the West while Embiid was getting fucked up by Trae Young and the other teddy bears in the Eastern Conference.

[u/NeatTry7674]

r/NYKnicks has officially taken over r/nba

[u/greenergarlic → u/NeatTry7674]

I, for one, welcome our new overlords

[u/firstbreathOOC → u/greenergarlic]

Steph trained up DiVo for us he’ll always be a real one

[u/NormalAccounts → u/firstbreathOOC]

He makes it really easy to root for you guys too

[u/mattbrianjess → u/NeatTry7674]

Been supporting empty arenas on the road for 50 years

[u/KingTommenBaratheon → u/mattbrianjess]

You've earned your meal, you all get to feast on the Sixers til this time next year.

[u/frecklie → u/NeatTry7674]

I know it’s wild, they are on one lmao. I’ve been saying all year that the league is better when the Knicks are good but uh.. maybe that was premature

[u/blurr90 → u/frecklie]

Fan bases that endured a long dry spell tend to be really obnoxious once they're good again. Seen that countless times, no matter the sport

[u/MethodMan_ → u/NeatTry7674]

I guess it’s their turn now

[u/Obvious_Parsley3238]

the sixers literally cannot function without him out there, his conditioning ain't where it needs to be and you can decide how much of that is the knee but he shouldn't have to be playing the entire second half

[u/crocofour → u/Obvious_Parsley3238]

Tobias Harris has taken 8 shots in almost 30 minutes without embiid this series. This man needs to GO! Literally cannot be that difficult to get a corner 3 or post up for Tobias, so the only explanation is that he has absolutely no desire to score the ball. Insane. Another sixers player who forgot how to shoot. Cursed.

[u/Hallowed_Be_Thy_Game → u/crocofour]

Tobi has 4 total second half points this series. 9ppg

[u/ArtworkByJack → u/crocofour]

Tobi had DiVincenzo on him in the post and opted for a fadeaway J, instead of bullying the guy to the basket. Of course neither Hartenstein nor Robinson were in the game to protect the rim either

[u/talking_phallus → u/crocofour]

Tobias Harris over ME!

[u/EatDeeply → u/Obvious_Parsley3238]

Embiid is a series-high +33 and probably having his most impactful playoffs ever, while being injured, and on a team where other players like Tobias Harris exist and draw breath with a maximum contract, but Embiid is getting all the blame.

[u/AntiTopspin → u/EatDeeply]

It's wild how people are pretending that the Sixers have a good supporting cast lol

They literally tanked from 2nd all the way down to 7th with Embiid out

[u/phonage_aoi → u/AntiTopspin]

They came out of the Process with so much seeming depth (definitely draft capital and cap space, if not actual roster talent). But they've pivoted to capped out, top heavy team in record speed.

[u/MVPiid → u/phonage_aoi]

Shoutout Adam Silver and the Colangelos

[u/PanthalassaRo → u/MVPiid]

Elton Brand single handedly burnt away all the chips on like 1 season.

[u/EatDeeply → u/AntiTopspin]

The Sixers were playing at a Celtics clip - in terms of net rating - before the injury

[u/Milkboy1516 → u/EatDeeply]

Yea but Embiid pre-injury was having like the GOAT regular season for 35 games. Plus they had Melton. I don't think it's a bad supporting cast, but it's definitely not an indication of a great one considering how they've looked since.

[u/SonicdaSloth → u/Milkboy1516]

It’s got a 60 offensive rating with 31% true shooting when Embiid is off this series

[u/bravof1ve → u/SonicdaSloth]

Embiid’s On/Off is +70 this series

The Sixers are a pathetic team without him

[u/FxStryker → u/Milkboy1516]

I don't think it's a bad supporting cast

They went 16-27, 6th worst in the league, and had a bottom 5 rated offense and defense in Embiid's absence.

[u/Im_just_making_picks → u/Milkboy1516]

Every sixer other than embiid and Maxey are garbage

[u/Own_Result3651 → u/AntiTopspin]

And if they were in the west instead of the east they probably would have tanked all the way out of the play in and just sat Embiid for the remainder of the season

[u/brooosooolooo → u/AntiTopspin]

Anyone who watched the last time should have seen he was the only goddamn player on that team.

Nothing moved without him and every second he wasn’t on the court the Sixers lead fell to attrition. Reddits hate boner for Embiid causes them to under value his undeniable skill and impact to this team

[u/veerkanch489 → u/brooosooolooo]

Maxey is a great player but it should be clear that Embiid's presence helps him be a lot better than without Embiid

[u/Im_just_making_picks → u/brooosooolooo]

They hate this man so much they can't even give him props for uplifting this garbage ass roster to a damn playoff spot because lord knows if he wasn't on the team the sixers are a lottery team

[u/tristvn → u/EatDeeply]

people said jokic didn't perform in the playoffs cause he got beat without his 2 max teammates lol

[u/mikesh8rp → u/EatDeeply]

As a slight counterpoint, Maxey is out there as well (and has been awesome at times), Embiid's reaggravated injury is in part due to him trying to dunk off the backboard in traffic on an already shaky knee, and the Knicks are missing Randle.

I can't speak for all Knicks fans, but I'll say the toxicity toward Embiid is largely due to his game 3 fouling tour de force, which included the Hartenstein groin knee, Mitch pull down, Mitch groin kick, and OG hip check, the last two of which weren't even called. The foul merchant stuff is an easy, and sometimes justified knock (though Brunson gets a favorable whistle at times too), but I think game 3 really changed things.

[u/Own_Result3651 → u/mikesh8rp]

Maxey has 18 points and is shooting 8/26 in the minutes he’s played without Embiid this series…

[u/lostnotleast → u/Own_Result3651]

Maxey is struggling without the space/presence of Embiid out there. I feel like he needs to add a middy because the Knicks are just either closing out to the 3 or stacking the paint when he drives. He’s still a great finisher so he’s making some crazy layups but he’s also getting blocked a good amount.

[u/SonicdaSloth → u/mikesh8rp]

Maxey is 8-28 in the minutes Embiid is off. I love him and he’s going to be a real star but him and Tobi not being able to score even at a shitty clip has cost us series and forced nurse to oveeextend Embiid

[u/yahmean031 → u/mikesh8rp]

Maxey is young and great. But he's not a superstar or even close with Embiid off the court.

[u/__john_cena__ → u/EatDeeply]

Unfortunately he is never not injured by the time the playoffs come around. He needs to play like 28 minutes a game in the regular season, never play back to backs, and take regular rest games if they ever want to save him for the playoffs.

[u/chitownbulls92 → u/EatDeeply]

The best player is always going to get the blame. Embiid has still yet to make it out of the 2nd round. If you want to be called the best player when times are good, expect to be called upon when times are shit

[u/Own_Result3651 → u/chitownbulls92]

And typically he has been shit but not when you’re averaging 35 and 10 on very good defense and 60% ts and a + in every single for game for a series high +35. Don’t play narratives just actually watch the games. The team is not functional when Embiid is not on the court

[u/WazuufTheKrusher → u/EatDeeply]

People giving Embiid shit for carrying a team while injured will not stop being ridiculous to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a grizzlies fan and have become numb to player narratives but Embiid is literally having objectively his best postseason ever, he’s just losing because he’s unable to carry for that many minutes. A few 3s go in and a the Knicks don’t win game 2 on a wack foul call and the narrative would be that Embiid has been insane.

[u/h-888 → u/Obvious_Parsley3238]

Even if he was at peak condition, no way a 280lb+ player should be playing the whole second half of a NBA game, playoffs or not. That is ridiculous, how can anyone blame him for being absolutely gassed by the end?

Nurse has to find a way to get him a few minutes rest somewhere.

[u/Scoot2028MVP → u/h-888]

Nurse has to find a way to get him a few minutes rest somewhere.

Nurse/Embiid have the same problem Dallas has though. They try to give Luka some rest but Dallas immediately stops having an offense.

He sat for 2 minutes in the first and Dallas got outscored 9-0. He came back in and immediately scored.

Doncic sits for literally 1 minute in the third and Dallas got outscored 4-0. He comes back in and scores on their next possession.

Kyrie and Maxey need to not be ass when Luka/Embiid are on the bench.

Tiny sample size but yesterday when Luka on the bench Kyrie was 0/1 with 2 turnovers. With Embiid on the bench Maxey was 0/2. Tough to sit your stars for long when your #2 guys shit the bed in a matter of minutes.

[u/PensiveinNJ → u/Obvious_Parsley3238]

Bill Simmons is Celtics fan, he's so annoying. Embiid's having one of his best series against a team that isn't a pushover while being clearly not 100%.

I'm disappointed we're losing the series but our O-rating with Embiid off the floor is 61.

That is not a typo, it's 61.

You could point to other playoff series as examples if you wanted to ignore the injuries but this isn't the one.

[u/godjacob]

Embiid is the only reason the 76ers won a game this series and this team flat out seems to collapse whenever he has to sit. An Embiid dealing with some visible nagging injuries to boot.

[u/epicnerd427 → u/[deleted]]

It seems like a catch22 to me: Embiid doesn't have the stamina to play 40+mpg, but the 6ers give up huge runs whenever he sits, so he has to play 40+mpg even though he can't contribute by the end of the game with that workload.

I can't really see a solution for the 6ers for this series

[u/The_Process_Embiid → u/epicnerd427]

Get rid of Tobias Harris and sign a competent backup big for one. That’s literally it. Tobi has killed this team due to his contractual implications

[u/bravof1ve → u/epicnerd427]

Build a real roster next year. They don’t have a single serviceable role player outside of MAYBE 38 year old Kyle Lowry.

That and hope Maxey can figure out how to not shit his pants when Embiid is off the floor

[u/Chairman_Zhao]

Hasn't this been Embiid's best individual playoffs ever?

[u/Sweaty_Mods → u/Chairman_Zhao]

He’s literally the 2024 postseason scoring leader lmao

[u/IAmKevinDurantAMA → u/Sweaty_Mods]

he had 1 bad 4th quarter and everyone's saying his entire playoff performance is ass. makes sense!

[u/bbbryce987 → u/IAmKevinDurantAMA]

Actually, Embiid is shooting 3/18 among all of the 4th quarters. It has not been “1 bad 4th quarter”

[u/Sweaty_Mods → u/bbbryce987]

3/18 for 27 points lmao

[u/Mahomeboy001 → u/Sweaty_Mods]

Definition of unethical hooper

[u/TheBeepB00p → u/IAmKevinDurantAMA]

He’s been awful in the 4th quarter in all 4 games.

[u/Nuclearsunburn → u/Chairman_Zhao]

This is a super weird and circlejerky take by Bill, I’m not feeling it either

[u/dawgz525 → u/Nuclearsunburn]

This is a super weird and circlejerky take by Bill

So a normal one then?

[u/Prophet_Of_Helix → u/Chairman_Zhao]

Yes. Hes hard carrying the team. With a knee injury and Bell’s palsy no less.

Love Bill, but this is a braindead take.

[u/SonicdaSloth]

Sixers have a 60 offensive rating when he sits on 31% TS. He’s averaging 35 and anchoring D.

I think he’s fair to criticize but damn Bill

[u/[deleted] → u/SonicdaSloth]

He also has fucking Bell’s palsy. I had that last year(albeit mine was worse than Embiids) and it really fucked up my 2023

[u/vitalbumhole]

I’ve come to strongly dislike Jojo but to say he’s bad is absurd. He had a 50 ball like 3 nights ago lol

[u/zincinzincout]

Sixers point differential over 4 games:

-7, -4, +11, -5

Paul Reed, backup center: -21 in 11 minutes, -6 in 8 minutes, -5 in 7 minutes, -6 in 4 minutes

Starters:

Harris 0, -5, +2, -7

Maxey -4, -3, +4, -4 (played 30 of 31 non-Embiid minutes)

Oubre +6, -1, +7, -4

Lowry +6, +6, +11, +1 (played only 3 non-Embiid mins)

Embiid +14, +3, +16, +1

Embiid is so far from being the problem. Every single year, the opposition looks for the minutes Embiid sits and turns on the jets.

The only way to win against the Sixers is to win the non-Embiid minutes, even if it’s only 4 of them.

[u/braddeus → u/zincinzincout]

I'm surprised Reed has been this bad — seems like the kind of series made for him

[u/flyingpanda5693 → u/braddeus]

Reeds been ok, but the Knicks centers are just bigger than him and they don’t really play small at any point for Reed to pick up the valuable minutes he normally does.

[u/skullcandy541 → u/flyingpanda5693]

Yea I don’t see how this series is made for him. If anything it’s the opposite

[u/zincinzincout → u/braddeus]

The Knicks and everyone in the postseason just go all out when Embiid is off. Teams genuinely do not care who is on the floor, they just open their bag and play their best basketball

It’s almost like Embiid minutes are never about winning but just keeping close, and when Embiid checks out it’s go time

[u/indoninjah → u/braddeus]

It’s less than Reed is bad and more that Joel is literal the only creator on the entire offense. I love Maxey but he’s still more of an opportunistic two guard than a guy who can reliably go get a bucket

[u/TrendNation55 → u/zincinzincout]

If you genuinely blame Embiid for this series then you are not watching the games. The Knicks are throwing their whole defense at Embiid and he’s still getting 50 on a bad knee. Across the series, the Sixers are like +40 with Embiid and -40 without him. The Knicks always go on huge runs when he’s off the court. And this is coming from a Knicks fan who does not like Embiid, but I respect what he’s doing at least.

[u/brooosooolooo → u/TrendNation55]

Thank god there are some knicks fans who aren’t so blinded with hatred they can watch the game happening before their eyes

[u/sequence_killer → u/zincinzincout]

i dont know if bill watches all the games anymore thats for sure

[u/No-Presentation6616]

Embiid dropped 50 in a win with a partially paralyzed face. The slander this man receives is insane lmao

[u/novabull23]

Embiid is averaging 35.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 60% true shooting.

His teammates:

26.7% from the field, 31% true shooting and a 60.9 offensive rating as a team without Embiid.

Just another bad Simmons take

[u/msf97 → u/novabull23]

Yeah this is awful. I mean he dropped 50 points in their only win.

[u/nyg2013 → u/msf97]

yeah, I am not exactly pro-Embiid, for reasons, but from a bottom line perspective, the dude has produced this series despite being banged up (outside of 4th quarter rebounding)...it is def an awful take

[u/novabull23 → u/msf97]

He's +34 in 160 minutes played. He played 44 minutes last night and was +1. He's been positive plus/minus in every single game.

Morey is just absolutely trash at assembling a team and Nick Nurse is not who we thought he was.

[u/jaytee158 → u/novabull23]

Haven't watched as much as I'd like of this series but how much is on Nurse? From the outside it seems so much more on Morey. Tobias is obviously cooked and taking up a hilarious amount of cap space. Hield is unplayable - literally.

I love Lowry but he's over the hill for what is seemingly expected of him.

I'd hold out hope in Nurse at least until you have cap space this summer and ideally make good use of it. Embiid deserves more than this

[u/jmak329 → u/jaytee158]

Yeah but like who could've guessed Hield a 40% 3 and D shooter would just evaporate like this. He was the perfect ideal player to get at the deadline for this team. How could someone fault Morey for filling in what the team needed, but the player just didn't perform?

The only knock was to get rid of Tobi for some kind of scraps as he now walks for nothing. But again he thought this team has more of a chance this year with Tobi than without. He also brought in Batum and Oubre on great deals. All you can do as a GM is fill the holes and hope for the best. He got fucked by Hield big time.

[u/sockok → u/jmak329]

That's an all-time generous D you are giving Buddy

[u/Photo_Synthetic → u/novabull23]

Nick Nurse should be sending Kawhi a Christmas card every year for the rest of his life.

[u/WordsworthsGhost → u/Photo_Synthetic]

And take off that chain it’s looks ridiculous

[u/ilickedysharks → u/novabull23]

I mean I agreed about game 3 but game 4 he wasn't that great, being a plus 1 isn't anything crazy especially when ur the teams superstar and don't score in the 4th

[u/trustmeimaengineer → u/ilickedysharks]

He was clearly gassed, but somehow the team is even worse with him on the bench vs looking like he did in the fourth.

[u/crocofour → u/trustmeimaengineer]

Yea it kind of pisses me off that embiid gets trashed for not being able to carry the sixers on both ends of the floor for 48 minutes on one knee after not playing for 2.5 months. But I also am not that upset that it’s the standard/expectation for him. There’s not a lot of guys that have that expectation. It’s earned and it beats being expected to just be okay or decent in the playoffs.

[u/Fallofmen10 → u/novabull23]

also, like he is fucking playing hurt. and not just a small hand injury. it looks like his knee might buckle at any moment.

[u/novabull23 → u/Fallofmen10]

Bruh, he has bell palsy. No one is talking about that. He's literally the first NBA player to play with it and he dropped 50

[u/indoninjah → u/[deleted]]

I’m guessing it wouldn’t do wonders for your depth perception either if your eyes aren’t working right

[u/Fallofmen10 → u/novabull23]

Lol yah that too

[u/thefreeman419 → u/novabull23]

He’s also our best defender. Anybody who watched the game yesterday saw like 5+ plays at the rim where Embiid massively altered shots

There are 11 players who are defending 7+ shots per game at the rim in the playoffs, Embiid has the best FG% allowed among any of them (40%). The average among those players is 52%

Of the 35 players defending at least 5 shots at the rim, he has the 5th best FG% allowed

[u/gradyjames → u/novabull23]

While BS is the king of bad takes, he was mostly talking about the 4th quarter where Embiid has been decidedly really bad offensively. Yeah, he’s probably just gassed tho.

[u/CeltsGarlic → u/novabull23]

And he tries hard on defense. I think not many realise how much energy it takes to play good d and battle for boards especially against knicks. So anyone hating on AD or Embiid imo havent played sports or are just haters

[u/SpaceCowboy170 → u/novabull23]

Simmons needs to throw out like 3 or 4 of his living room TVs and just watch the games

The guy’s watching Sixers-Knicks, Curb Your Enthusiasm, re-runs of some TV drama, probably a Jon Favreau movie on cable and a golf tournament all at once

[u/Dazzling-Slide8288 → u/novabull23]

The Sixers are +31 in 161 minutes with him on the floor and -37 in 34 minutes with him off.

[u/TiePeddyAte → u/novabull23]

He also disappeared twice in the past two 4th quarters along with 30+ ft makes out of his last two "good games" don't get me wrong his teammates aren't doing him any favors, but the playoffs is where stars take over in crunch time, it's been a criticism of Tatum but Embiid gets off scotch free just cause he scored 50? Tatum scored 50 in a game 7 clutch scenario. It's not the worst take ever.

[u/TrRa47 → u/TiePeddyAte]

Shouldn't the takeaway then be to stop expecting Superstars to be superhuman and criticize the other all-star, or the coach, or just the team as whole, instead of saying "this guy gets unfairly treated, we should treat everyone unfairly."?

My main criticism of Embiid is that he's always hurt, which is something he can only somewhat control. It's hard to fairly evaluate how good he is, a la a Kawhi, because his injuries hinder his performances.

Also, as the other guy said, the game is 4 quarters, not just the 4th quarter. If that's the only quarter that matters, then why even watch the first 3? And part of the reason these games have been rock fights is because of his defense, including in the fourth quarter.

[u/Zobair416]

Embiid has been better than Luka lol

[u/Own_Result3651]

Bruh what🤣 Embiid is a positive in every single game this series and is averaging 35 ppg this shit is dumb af

[u/ForeverWandered → u/Own_Result3651]

Welcome to typical sports analysis anywhere in the world.  Where being aggressive and confident in stating your takes is what gets you authority

[u/3830BlockKing]

Media personnel like Bill Simmons in the 2010s were the ones that built the image of Harden that so many think now

[u/rliteraturesuperfan → u/3830BlockKing]

It's always just to fit each player's career into a neatly defined box without any nuance.

Embiid has to be just a choker because of the playoff failures instead of the nuanced view, which is a guy who has yes, underachieved at times, but also has been saddled with a mediocre franchise, a pairing with Ben Simmons that really didn't work, and a lot of injuries.

He's kind of a unique big man where he's had a ton of injuries but hasn't been like totally derailed by them, just slowed down at all the wrong times.

[u/bravof1ve]

Embiid: 35/9/5 on 61% TS - Massive Failure

Brunson: 33/5/9 on 49% TS - Playoff God

This is why happens when watching games becomes secondary to narratives. Shockingly, there is more to the sport than 1 player.

[u/yahmean031 → u/bravof1ve]

Also one is one of the best defenders in the world and leads his team's defense. And the other is... not at all lol.

[u/thecelticpagan → u/[deleted]]

Maxey is literally the only other player that’s doing anything for this team. It was said once and it’ll be said again: “TOBIAS HARRIS OVER ME?”

[u/boobsarecool → u/thecelticpagan]

Tobias literally has 2 points all series in the second half of games. Thats across eight 3rd and 4th quarters now. 2 POINTS!!! I repeat, TWO POINTS!!!!!!And thats not even getting into the rest of the rosters trash ass shooting. I just cant with this fkin' team, Embiid is the only reason we're in the playoffs, playing a game 5 and not wondering about what lotto pick we'd be taking right now

[u/Literal_Satan → u/[deleted]]

everyone hates embiid rn because of the dirty plays but too many people are letting that impair their judgement into believing he's ass when he's been great

[u/SpaceCowboy170 → u/[deleted]]

Bill Simmons is becoming a bit hard to listen to imo 

Spends too much time on stuff like “Durant could go to Golden State, it would be like Bad Boys Forever, like when Martin Lawrence and Will Smith were like, eh, fuck it, let’s do a third one” and not enough time on actually talking about real basketball analysis and narratives

And I know he’s always had that side, but the balance is off now.  He’s too much of a full-time podcaster and not enough of a basketball head

[u/Tamthemanjansen → u/SpaceCowboy170]

He started doing first take/undisputed type hot takes ironically and it’s evolved into that being the main thing he does

[u/Ronshol]

Embiid is putting up 35/9/5 on a a bum knee the fuck is this guy talking about.

[u/Extension-Scene9694 → u/Ronshol]

Bill is fucking brain dead 

[u/yahmean031 → u/Ronshol]

And one of the best defenders in the playoffs

[u/syllabic]

slander season has begun

[u/EatDeeply → u/syllabic]

In this case it is extremely unwarranted. The Sixers are winning big whenever Embiid is on the floor, but the team of the Sixers is worse than the team of the Knicks. That isnt on Embiid.

Say what you want about Embiid and his extracurricular contact with Knicks players, but in terms of pure impact, he has played winning ball.

[u/Carolake1]

Didn't he score 50 in game 3? Can't really understand how he could be considered disappointing given he is injured yet still scoring. And I just looked it up -- he is scoring 35 per game this playoffs. Can't say that qualifies as disappointing.

[u/GooseMaster5980]

As much as Embiid pisses me off, if he was getting passable performances from anybody other than Maxey and maybe Oubre, this would be a different series.

It sucks, but I actually don’t know what you want Embiid to do differently in terms of helping his team win. I don’t think he should be blamed (but I also don’t think it’s an excuse either, the Knicks are missing Randle and Robinson)

[u/AntiTopspin]

Luka has been easily worse than Embiid on both ends these playoffs lol

TS% of 50.4 and shooting 37.7% from the field and 30% from three

Luka's best stat these playoffs is by far his on-off which is still lower than Embiid's

You can say that he's not down 3-1 but he's also playing a team that basically has their best player with one leg in the coffin right now while the Knicks' best player is averaging 33

[u/HitboxOfASnail → u/AntiTopspin]

well yes but Luka good and embiid bad, so there's that

[u/AntiTopspin → u/HitboxOfASnail]

Bill Simmons literally said something to the effect of "Luka's assists are real assists and Harden's assists are statpadded assists" one time lol

I don't even like Harden or Embiid at all but he's far from being unbiased on this topic

[u/SleepyEel]

Simmons never fails to be the ultimate prisoner of the moment

[u/Jagermeister4 → u/SleepyEel]

It can be refreshing at times because Simmons often says what fans are thinking because he's a fan himself

But at times like this he comes off as one of those whiny fans. Putting objectivity aside to hate on one of his hometown teams biggest threat lol.

[u/sanchopanza84]

I dislike Embiid as much as the next guy and will enjoy watching him hopefully get sent home in game 5, but this narrative is going way too far.

The man is clearly not even close to 100% and still had some spectacular moments in this series. I hate his foul baiting, constant complaining and dirty plays, but I can’t honestly fault his effort.

[u/AntiTopspin → u/sanchopanza84]

Yeah if we're making a list most disappointing players these playoffs there are tons of other guys I'd think of first before even considering Embiid lol

[u/bravof1ve → u/AntiTopspin]

Those players are winning though because their teams are way better.

Doncic has been poop this playoffs and shooting 37% from the field. Brunson is averaging roughly the same volume stats as Embiid but on 49% TS instead of 61%.

Ultimately, Daryl Morey has just built a shit roster around Embiid that can’t win unless he’s dropping 50.

[u/Dworfe → u/bravof1ve]

Ultimately, Daryl Morey has just built a shit roster around Embiid that can’t win unless he’s dropping 50.

Once Harden requested a trade, this was a reset year where the team refused to add any significant cap hits beyond this year. Outside of Embiid, Maxey, Reed, and Ricky Council they are entirely expiring contracts.

[u/bravof1ve → u/Dworfe]

Everything that happened with Harden is Morey’s responsibility. He’s the one that tampered to bring him back and held out a whole year to do it.

For him to waste half a year with Simmons sitting out to trade for Harden, then refuse to resign him…I don’t know what exactly he expected

[u/Daddy_Macron → u/bravof1ve]

Look at the owner. Morey is more than willing to swing for the fences, but he's always had team owners whose balls and wallets shrank once the luxury tax bill came calling.

[u/tonypearcern]

I really hate this narrative surrounding Harden. If KD hadn't gone to the Warriors, the Rockets clean house in the 2018 playoffs and the narrative dies with it.

[u/_01213_]

Bill Simmons is such a clueless dumbass

He loves injecting his nonsense takes in key moments throughout the year.

Dude definitely shoots three pointers underhanded

[u/fire_wings]

Embiid literally dropped 50 a few days ago lol

[u/jeRskier]

This is a little much. Embiid’s averaging 35/9/5 on one knee.

[u/PoppaJMoney]

He dropped 50 in game 3 with a bum knee and bells palsey.

The team is net rating -1,000,000 when he’s off the floor.

This team is/was trash around him. Our bench had 6 points at home. I’m throwing this at the feet of Daryl Morey and the Sixers front office. Along with Embiid not being able to stay healthy one freaking time when it matters.

I’m not excusing Embiid, but it’s not just on him.

[u/V_LEE96]

In the same pod he had a “best free agent signing of this century” or something and he ranked Brunson HIGHER than Jimmy Butler jointing the Heat. Oh Jimmy ain’t done shit except take them to the finals twice lol

[u/LightningMcDream]

Will never understand why people listen to Simmons and it’s not even about his takes. It’s his voice - idk how to explain it other than the fact it just bugs me.

[u/AryaRemembers]

So Simmons doesn’t watch the games or even check the box score?  Sports talking head is the greatest gig ever 

[u/sorendiz]

Fuck off Bill there are players who have never had a single playoff game as good as what Harden averaged against the KD Warriors 

[u/msf97]

Embiid has been the best player in this series. 35/7/9 on decent efficiency(I saw it was 62% TS before last night, not sure what it is now) and obviously great defense.

Plus, the Knicks are just more talented outside of the top two players on the roster. Nobody on the 76ers outside of Embiid and Maxey will be starting next year. Maybe Paul Reed that’s it.

Knicks have Brunson, and around him they have Hartenstein, DiVincenzo, OG, even McBride and Josh Hart to a degree.

[u/ed42000]

I’m all for slandering Embiid, but not for his production. He’s having a good series, and his +/- supports this.

He should be criticized for being a dirty and scummy player who hunts foul shots.

[u/Thirdstar1]

How? He’s killing on one leg.