The Sixers forced a Game 7 on Sunday in their second-round series against the Hawks by winning on the road Friday night. That didn’t stop Joel Embiid from complaining about the officiating, Dave McMenamin of ESPN writes. Without specifically naming Trae Young, Embiid claims the Hawks’ star gets favorable treatment.
“I just felt like it wasn’t called both ways, especially because of the minimal contact that they get on the point guard, and when it comes to us, we don’t get the same thing,” Embiid said. “So I just want it called both ways. If you’re going to call something like nothing on their point guard, it should be the same way and call the same thing [for] me when I get — if I get — touched.”
Young has taken an average of 9.7 free throws in the series but only five on Friday. Embiid has shot an average of 12.0 free throws per game, though just four on Friday.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- Ben Simmons‘ performances in the last three games have damaged his reputation, Rich Hofmann of The Athletic opines. The Sixers’ guard has four years remaining on his five-year, $177.2MM extension but he hasn’t improved upon his weaknesses. The same knocks against Simmons from four years ago still exist, according to Hofmann, mostly notably that he remains an offensive liability against a set halfcourt defense. Simmons’ 29.8% shooting from the foul line in the series has also forced coach Doc Rivers to pull him out of the game at crucial stages.
- James Harden promises to be a bigger threat in Game 7 on Saturday than he was the past two games, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. The Nets’ star guard scored a combined 21 points on 21.9% shooting after returning from hamstring tightness. “It’s not even about rust, it’s about being able to move,” Harden said. “As I go day-by-day, continue to get better. … I’ve got to be better on both end of the ball, which I will be in Game 7.”
- With Kevin Durant on their side and the home-court advantage, the Nets have no excuses in Game 7, Ian O’Connor of the New York Post opines.
- Clippers guard Terance Mann exploded onto the national scene on Friday with a career-high 39 points as his team eliminated the Jazz. Some members of the Knicks’ front office lobbied to acquire Mann in the Marcus Morris deal last year, Ian Begley of SNY tweets. The Clippers retained Mann and instead shipped Maurice Harkless, a 2020 first-round pick and 2021 second-rounder to the Knicks.
Utah stop playing any defense last night. Just shows Gobert is not much of a factor as his unworthy DPOY award shows. He looked lost out there. He can only guard around the rim.
Or maybe the Clippers are better than people want to admit.
There was a lot of open 3s for the clippers. Play a zone defense if you have Gobert standing under the basket. Clippers adjusted and Jazz didn’t.
This LAC team without Kawhi and Ibaka is lottery level, there’s no question about that. Utah had it’s injuries, Mann had a career game, but there’s still no excuse.
They lost two straight games to a top heavy LA team without 2 of its 3 best guys. Simple as that.
Or maybe a guy who’s 7-1 has difficulty guarding a point guard? It was the old Andrew Bogut guarding Tony Allen trick. But mr. Mann foiled the plan by making jump shot after jump shot. Three pointer after 3-pointer.
So without a Tony Allen out there, Gold Bear should have been guarding a big man. It was a coaching gamble that didn’t work out.
Mind boggling they didnt use Ilyasova in this series. It’s not like this wasnt an obvious thing before the series started. He was going to be a key piece for them against the Clippers smaller lineups, and to give them another shooter/floor space. Give credit surprisingly to Ty Lue, b/c even though he is the one that put them in those positions, he willingly fixed his mistakes when he needed to, and he is pretty much the only coach that has done that this postseason
Not having Conley the whole series also hurt, and is probably the first injury to really impact results so far, unless Danny Green being out hurts Philly later. That being said, the combination of not having someone that could guard the guard spot for Utah, and only 1 of Kawhi/Paul George playing helped guys like Paul George, Marcus Morris, and Reggie Jackson. Also allowed the Clippers guard rotation of Jackson, Mann, and Beverley to contain/cancel out Utah’s guards
I also think Conley coming back as a starter, and pushing Joe Ingles to the bench hurt them at the end, but the other things hurt them through the series
Playoffs have always been about match ups. The better team adjust through out the game. looked like Utah did not adjust to the clippers style of play. That is the head coach fault be willing to go small ball when the other team goes small ball.
UTA were a very lucky team to get out of R1… if they had to face LAL or GSW instead of MEM they wouldn’t!
No need to complain ’bout them, UTA did overachieve this year by gettin’ to R2, so they had the best season possible for them, shame the 2 best teams in the WC are out… really hard to predict anythin’ from here on.
Tyrone Johnson on 97.5 the Fanatic said it best – Rudy Gobert is so overpaid. He isnt good at basketball, hes mediocre at best. Hes just 7’1 or 7’2. Skill wise, rudimentary.
NBA players are always referring to the playoffs as “going to war” , then they sook and cry about people touching them and not getting foul calls. I guess they must be part of the snowflake army..
What are you talking about?
This site is totally bogged down with clueless trolls.
He’s talking about consistency. Trae gets the slightest touch and it’s free throws, Joel gets hammered and there’s no call.
The prejudice against big guys is totally unfair as it’s often relative right – guards get fouled mostly by other guards and bigs by bigs. Capella just whacks Embiid when he’s pump faking under the basket.
Not a fan of either team. Hawks should have fouled Ben as they got into the penalty early in the fourth.
Speaking of Ben – he’s clogging the lane every time Joel posts. If they get rid of Ben Joel will be a beast next year. Him with four shooters and they’re infinitely better
Lol, Embiid literally busted Snells face with a forearm and got away with it. You see the garbage call Lou Williams got last night? Trae’s been criticized all year for “hunting for fouls” and he’s still shooting less than crybaby Embiid. If Capela or Collins would have shoved him down and stood over him taunting like he did last night they’d have been tossed and suspended for game 7. Joel needs to shut up. He complains every time down the floor. He’s charmin soft.
Dwight Howard is the one you should be mad at. He almost cost the 76ers the game with 2 thug like moves. Embiid shot to the face was accidental not on purpose he was coming down with the rebound. Gallinari has all series been doing the same thing on 76er players by pushing and shoving. In the playoffs they don’t call as many fouls.
Embiid gets calls all year long. Of course he gets bumped, he’s a center, and he dishes it out too. To want the standard of calls given to quick ballhandlers, competing to beat opponents to a spot, is ridiculous. That standard should be adjusted by the refs, not given to post play too. There should be less of that not more.
Terrible reactions by Embiid, and jbl, although his broader picture is true and Simmons is hanging out on the backside oddly.
The whining by Embiid is excessive. He must be ailing… he would know better if he wasn’t. Well he should know better.
Dwight Howard’s hackery doesn’t help either, giving a foul impression to the refs. Howard is done, been done being a player. He looks for opportunities to hurt and gets creative with it.
Remember when people came on here last year to tell me to stop talking about Terrence Mann as if he’d ever make a difference lol. Huge matchup for him in the Dallas series, helping them advance, and when he finally played against Utah, he helped contain Mitchell and Clarkson, and gives them another playmaker with size that can catch and shoot
Everytime Simmons attacks the paint, something good happens b/c Atlanta cant guard him, yet he has rarely looked to do that
Seems like Simmons can only attack the paint before they set up in the half-court offense? Maybe in situations where they push the ball. In the half-court set his man is 15 feet off him so he can’t really drive the lane with effectiveness. So yeah he sucks.. let’s trade him to the Warriors ( which in my mind would be incredibly amazing.)
To be honest, the only person Atlanta has that should be able to make it somewhat more difficult for him is Solomon Hill. Multiple times he has just blown by guys in the rare situations he actually attacks, and they’re already giving him space. For sure a lot of those situations are in semi transition, but it wouldnt be an issue if he was playing the 5 in some lineups, which was one of their problems last year, but that just goes back to what I’ve said about Doc Rivers getting hired by a team that fired their coach for the same reason he got fired in LA…
But even without seeing Simmons at the 5, their guard rotation has been questionable and inconsistent, and guys that could contribute in this matchup, especially with Danny Green missing, and played well earlier in the season, like Isaiah Joe, havent played at all. If they dont want to use Simmons at the 5, another option is Paul Reed in small lineups, with Simmons next to him at the 4 (although I dont think that’s entirely necessary b/c of their other options). There are guys on your roster for a reason, and I dont understand why all of the sudden, these coaches have become so stubborn about not making any adjustments, when usually the teams that do that are the teams that win. Like…how do you completely ignore obvious keys to a series, when you have the personnel on your roster, and just let the same things happen over and over again
Simmons at the 5 is probably worth a shot, although I wouldn’t be that optimistic about it.
One reason he may be apprehensive about attacking the rims is his 32% FT shooting. If BS could shoot 70% from the line and develop just an OK mid range game he’s be an All NBA shoe-in every year. This version of him is a tough one though.
Good takes formerlyz… I usually post only when I object to something, but that’s bC you make so many points.
It feels like Rivers is just taking turns with players, and there’s no room for role players, and Simmons goes faster than what he likes.
The other thing I would say is that Seth Curry and George Hill should only be on the floor when at least 1 of Simmons and Embiid are on the floor, as they’re best as catch and shoot guys off of them, and can be really lethal if used that way
Embiid taking 12 ft per game and complaining about refs, SMH
Do Knicks fans really want to hear what could’ve been if they got Terance instead? THEY DON’T!!!!
Ty Lue ran circles around Quin Snyder.
If only Quin had focused on the D, the O would have come. More letters next year, Quin.
Lol.
Knicks also should have drafted Donovan Mitchell, so there’s that.
If we’re going to list things the Knicks should have done over the past 25 years, we’ll be here all night.
What about a trade involving the Cavs and 76ers?
Kevin Love and Dylan Widenor for Ben Simmons and 76ers 2nd rounder?
Kevin can play alongside Embid as a PF/C. He won’t clog up the lane because he’s comfortable playing on the perimeter but can also bang in the post and rebound with the best of them (when healthy hrs great in the post. He can also slide to C when Embid needs a rest.
Widenor has ability to shoot from the perimeter and can come off the bench and perhaps blossom into a starter.
Simmons can be moved into a point forward position. Let him work out of the post where he’s more effective offensively vs working from the perimeter. Cavs can play small with Simmons in the post as a point fwd or center (Kind of like Draymond Green) with Sexton and Garland on the perimeter. Simmons can pick and roll vs smaller guards/ forwards, work offensively from 10ft in or pass out to one of the guards on the outside. LBJ would often work out the post with offense running thru him. Rather than creating for others the guards can create for him in the post on alley oops, mismatches, etc. He also should greatly improve the Cavs defense and give them more length and height from the guard position where both Sexton and Garland are rather small and liabilities against some of the bigger guards.
Love is owed about 2/$60 vs Simmons and his 4/$140 mil. 76ers save a ton of money and IF (and I know it’s a big if) Love is healthy hee could give them that outside shooter they need and more beef in the post if needed. Love has averaged about 8.5 rebounds and shot around 38% from the 3pt range last two years.
I think this trade could work. I don’t think the Cavs would have to give up a 1st rounder because they’re saving 76ers $80 mil.
Thoughts?
Love is a 5 at this point, defensively. Doubt they’d have any interest bc of that. Also, although I’m a Love supporter, even I think that would be selling low on BS.
Even tho I’m off the Ben Bandwagon that’s a bad trade man. Kevin Love is cooked.
What about a trade involving the Cavs and 76ers?
Kevin Love and Dylan Widenor for Ben Simmons and 76ers 2nd rounder?
Kevin can play alongside Embid as a PF/C. He won’t clog up the lane because he’s comfortable playing on the perimeter but can also bang in the post and rebound with the best of them (when healthy when healthy). He can also slide to C when Embid needs a rest.
Widenor has ability to shoot from the perimeter and can come off the bench and perhaps blossom into a starter.
Simmons can be moved into a point forward position. Let him work out of the post where he’s more effective offensively vs working from the perimeter. Cavs can play small with Simmons in the post as a point fwd or center (Kind of like Draymond Green) with Sexton and Garland on the perimeter. Simmons can pick and roll vs smaller guards/ forwards, work offensively from 10ft in or pass out to one of the guards on the outside. LBJ would often work out the post with offense running thru him. Rather than creating for others the guards can create for him in the post on alley oops, mismatches, etc. He also should greatly improve the Cavs defense and give them more length and height from the guard position where both Sexton and Garland are rather small and liabilities against some of the bigger guards.
Love is owed about 2/$60 vs Simmons and his 4/$140 mil. 76ers save a ton of money and IF (and I know it’s a big if) Love is healthy hee could give them that outside shooter they need and more beef in the post if needed. Love has averaged about 8.5 rebounds and shot around 38% from the 3pt range last two years.
I think this trade could work. I don’t think the Cavs would have to give up a 1st rounder because they’re saving 76ers $80 mil.
Thoughts?
Nobody commented the first time. We saw it. No need to copy and paste.
This trade was so bad you posted it twice?
He forgot how to post, it’s been so long.
website glitch. you guys are brutal.
Aren’t you the same guy as x%sure?
Pro-Cavs long posters are all alike!
I would like Simmons on the Cavs actually. But his value, or any value, is what someone will give up for it, and someone will offer much more for Simmons who may just need a new start.
Simmons and Kormaz for CJ Mccollum
Anything that gets Korkmaz or Milton OFF this team has my immediate attention.
Mind boggling that the hawks didn’t close the deal as yet.
How long until LA finds out if this is an ACL sprain or tear for Kawhi? Thought they were supposed to know days ago.
If it’s a sprain it’ll be very interesting to see if he comes back. Seems like a risky move for a risk averse player – but you have to believe LA with a healthy Kawhi is a favorite to win it all at this point. Unless Harden and Kyrie make miraculous recoveries.
I actually think Phoenix is the better bet.
The biggest issue is that Ben Simmons isn’t a point guard, or any other type of guard, for that matter.
Play him at the 3, 4, or 5, and things can only improve.
Doesn’t Simmons already play point forward? He’s a little bit like Giannis in that regard because both men aren’t great outside shooters? They’re great at everything else in fact really awesome at everything else but without the shot you play two shooting guards with them.
Yeah but the Bucks play far better when Jrue brings the ball up and plays point with Giannis off ball.
Basketball is positionless anyway. It shouldn’t matter
That’s False ….. Best record in NBA Why ?
Suns record why. A true rim protector will never be replaced. A true PG will never be replaced. It’s why Sixers will never win with Ben at point.
Who is Phoenix’s rim protector?
Since he was drafted. I’ve been saying he’s not a PG. What can a PG do who is shooting .30% FT. He’s a career .60% FT shooter. There is no reason why he can’t be over .70% by now. He’s got great vision and handle. Doesn’t make him a PG. You pay that money so they can hack-a-Ben. Sixers a team, a contending team. Needs a game manager who can make their FTs. Ben should be a wing. Can still get his ast. Can still get his points, will score more even. Ben can post any 3 or 4. He can take any 3 or 4 off the dribble. He can draw fouls and put pressure on other teams interior D. He just has to shoot over .70% FT. A real Baller is always improving and up for any challenge. This guy won’t shoot cause he’s afraid. That’s a a max player to you. A real PG manages a WIN. A real PG manages a team’s STRENGTHS. A real PG isn’t afraid to SHOOT. A real PG makes Embiid a better player. Ben is not a PG. He can play the position. But he is best at the 3 or 4. Learn to Freakin SHOOT already.
Harden doesn’t look 100%. I’ll give him credit for playing those mins. But Bucks have not gone after him like they should. Another bad coaching move. I’m so down on Bucks right now. Just don’t care. There’s no way they should lose with no Kyrie and a fake Harden. I mean NoWay. Yet I’m not confident they will. Please let’s end The Big Noise .
I think most would agree that Draymond is overpaid for what he provides. Ben Simmons is basically Draymond, with a few dunks per game, which means his contract is twice as bad. It will take multiple 1sts to get rid of him and bring in a better guard. They can’t sign anyone.
Korkmaz, Milton, Scott, Simmons need to be replaced next season. Well see what happens in Game 7, I have some faith in Embiid, Seth, and Tobias to get it done. But not a lot.