OCTOBER 31, 7:56am: Embiid and Towns took to social media overnight to essentially pick up where they left off, trading increasingly nasty barbs on Instagram and Twitter.
As we wait to see how the NBA will respond to Wednesday’s fight, Marks notes (via Twitter) that a suspension will cost Embiid nearly $190K per game and Towns about $188K per game.
OCTOBER 30, 9:57pm: All-Star big men Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns were involved in an on-court brawl during the third quarter of the Sixers‘ win over the Timberwolves‘ on Wednesday night, resulting in both players being ejected for fighting.
It’s possible that one or both combatants threw a punch, and photographs make it appear as if Embiid attempted to gouge/poke Towns’ left eye with his right thumb, although his hand may have landed on Towns’ face accidentally.
This is not the first time bad blood has surfaced between Embiid and Towns. After a game in December 2017, Embiid went to Instagram to post a photograph of himself scoring on Towns. Towns criticized the caption and picture quality, to which Embiid responded, “Better quality than your defense.”
Bobby Marks of ESPN notes that the severity of the brawl will likely warrant multi-game suspensions for both players. Marks adds that both teams don’t play again until Saturday, so the league will have plenty of time to assess whether any players left the bench area, which could lead to additional suspensions (Twitter link). Stay tuned.
I can see 2 for joel, 3 for Townsend and maybe 1 for Simmons
The refs already said that Simmons was a peace keeper and they did review that.
Simmons was choking towns well he was on the ground not sure that counts a peace keeping
Well he was trying to
stop him from
fighting some
more!
Not sure. What Joel did post-fight, making light of it, egging on the crowd, could add to the penalty.
Should have but didn’t
Embiid was the instigator and acting like a fool afterwards, he should get at least 6 games at least so he thinks twice before pulling this garbage again.
Goodness, thank God you have no actual say in whatever penalties are handed down. I can understand you having a dislike for Jojo and/or the Sixers, but this is a little much.
Eye gouge? Uh oh, I smell a pun coming! Here it comes:
That was quite a KAT fight.
Meh. Keep trying.
You rock!
PapiElf is back!
That’s a Dad joke, but I must admit I laughed. Well played!
JoJo was having his way with KAT so… if you can’t beat em..
…get jabbed in the eye
…then beat em up?
…then lose, and come off as spineless. As usual.
Put him in a headlock lol
So did Embiid say that Jimmy showed them the pics/vid of KAT’s ex?
Embiid deserves a longer suspension. Especially after hyping it up afterward.
Tell me I’m wrong.
I’m with you on this.
NBA needs to come down hard.
I’d think 10 games, appealed down to 7 or 8.
You’re wrong. Jojo was just telling us what we already knew about KAT, except the part that referenced him being a b**** which I assume involves a girl he couldn’t keep happy? Hopefully Embiid or his likely source (JB) will get the rest of the story out there.
As a fan of the T Wolves, if Towns did what Embiid did afterward, I would be saddened.
You’re wrong.
I love Embiid’s game, and I love how he has fun on the court.
But dude flops all over the place and does dirty stuff like this all the time. That eye gouge was super stupid and deserves a 2 game suspension all on its own. Then he continues to escalate things in the post-game. I could see him getting more than 5 games. Probably works out for him, since he does well with rest time, but I don’t see this kind of immaturity and unprofessionalism serving him or the Sixers well.
I’ve only seen the replays, but Ben Simmons is definitely putting pressure around the neck of KAT. He should most certainly be suspended at least a few games for that. Even if the intention is to start as a peace keeper, he definite escalates the situation with physical force, and going for KAT’s neck while lying on top of him is completely unnecessary.
I’d give KAT fewer games than Embiid, since Embiid started the whole thing and already has a history of being stupid about stuff.
I’m not as high on the Sixers as others are, but losing Embiid and Simmons for a few games will hurt their chances at being a top seed.
Gotta play like men, not like whiny children. If you can’t play sports without throwing a fit and getting into “fights” like this, then you’ve got a lot of growing up to do.
It was funny that Embiid brought up Jimmy Butler in his online stupidity rants.
As if Jimmy preferred playing with him compared to KAT…
Jimmy wanted nothing to do with another year of playing with Embiid and Simmons, just like he didn’t want to keep playing with KAT and Wiggins.
With so many people calling the Sixers championship contenders, Jimmy was like, “Nah… I’ll go play with a real team in Miami.”
Man your hatred has you blinded… If you think Miami is better than Philly, well you are alone in the world, Troll!
You sure call a lot of people trolls. Perhaps you should stop trolling other posters all the time?
Who has Philly beat this year that’s any good?
How many games has Miami lost with Jimmy Butler in the lineup?
For the record, I’m a Toronto Raptors fan with a strong dislike for Goran Dragic (seriously, can’t stand that guy!). I take no pleasure in Miami being good.
But the Sixers don’t have enough shooting right now, and it looks like the maturity issues of their star players is going to hurt them.
I’m a big fan of the Elton Brand GM hire, and I’m sure he’s aware of his teams’ weaknesses. Not sure what salary he sends out in a trade to bring back talent though.
Embiid handled the post game interview very well, almost seamlessly until near the end when he says, ” … I shouldn’t get suspended”. But there’s that pesky narcissist creeping out.
Surprised Embrio didn’t get hurt
Joel called him a p**** on Twitter. Yet he misses a quarter of each season with injuries.