Joel Embiid on Celtics’ Loss: “I Need to Do Better”

The 76ers once again lost against the Celtics. Joel Embiid’s mistake made it possible for the guests from Boston to take a huge win, after a dramatic ending. It was 112-109 for the Celts who are now tied with Philly at No.4 in the Eastern Conference.

Instead of passing the ball out to his teammates, after one offensive rebound, Embiid instinctively reacted and scored with 2.9 seconds until the end. At that moment, his team was one point behind, 110-109. But it turned out to be a huge mistake.

Here’s the catch why. Sixers didn’t have a timeout, and they had to make the foul in order to get the last possession. Without a timeout, their situation would be much tougher, and the smartest thing for Embiid to do was to pass the ball to some of his teammates who were waiting for it at the three-point line.

Joel Embiid sure knows how to end a post-game presser 🙃 pic.twitter.com/k7o3Evq2Ea

— ESPN (@espn) February 13, 2019

After the game, the Process took the blame on him, admitting that he did the wrong thing.

“I should’ve kicked it out or took it out and shot it. I didn’t think about the situation and us not having a timeout. I thought we had one, and as soon as I shot it, I looked and said, ‘I’m stupid.'”Embid stated at the press conference.

The journalist witnessed the Cameroonian’s outburst when he used the f-word, describing the referees, and the way they “suck.”

According to Embiid, the officials didn’t call on Al Horford’s obvious foul on him, with some 40 seconds until the end, and in the situation when Philly had a chance to tie the game.

And really, there was a contact between Embiid and Horford, but it remains unclear whether it was enough for a foul, especially because Sixers’ center obviously wanted it to happen.

The ball was loose, Celtics obtained possession, and scored to increase their lead. Embiid was furious as well as the entire bench of the 76ers.

Turnovers with the game on the line… Just hate to see that from Embiid. https://t.co/3k4nhEaW6q

— Mickstape (@MickstapeShow) February 13, 2019

What is especially noticeable is that whenever Horford plays defense against him, Embiid’s numbers are significantly decreasing. Last night they both had excellent stats.

Philly’s big man scored 23 points, grabbed 14 boards and had 2 blocks. On the other end, Horford had the same efficiency with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

It was one of the rare situations since the start of this season in which Embiid couldn’t dominate as he usually does. When he was asked after the game question to make some comment on that, the 24-year old said that Horford’s effort had nothing to do with his performance. It was all about himself.

“He’s not doing anything, I was sleep-walking for three quarters, and that’s on me. Like I said, that’s on me. It had nothing to do with anybody.”

The analysts wouldn’t agree on that, as they researched Embiid’s production with and without Horford guarding him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Onw6sdNfBNY

According to their study, Boston’s big man is definitely affecting negatively on his game. Without him in the lineup against the Celts, Embiid has 1.08 points per play and 52% from the field. With Horford, only 0.73 pts per play and 36% of successful shooting.

These numbers are drawn from the last 12 matches, played in this and the previous campaign including the postseason.

The overall score between the two sides since then is 10-2 in favor of the Celtics, and slowly the 76ers fans are getting goosebumps when they see green jerseys on the floor.

All in all, Embiid stated that he needs to be better and that everything depends on him, not anyone else.

“I need to do a better job.”

Right now, both Philly and Boston have 36 wins and 21 losses each.

However, Celtics have the advantage because of a tiebreaker, as they already won three times against this opponent since the start of the season.

There is a long way until the playoffs, and these teams are expected to be much better. Before the season started, they were projected to meet in the Conference finals.

But if they continue to play like this, we might see them already in the first round.