Damian Lillard left surprised by Joel Embiid’s post-game conference
Damian Lillard was left surprised by Joel Embiid's post-game comments following the Philadelphia 76ers' Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics in the 2023 conference semis. The Sixers lost the game 112-88 on the road, with Embiid and Harden misfiring.
However, the reigning MVP appeared to take shots at the 76ers supporting cast at the post-game press conference. Here's what he said:
"Me and James, we can't win alone. That's why basketball is played 5-on-5. We need everybody to find ways to be better."
Embiid took accountability by saying he needed to play better shortly before seemingly throwing the supporting cast under the bus, which surprised many, including Damian Lillard. The Portland Trail Blazers point guard retweeted a snippet of Embiid's postgame comments, writing:
"Huh?"
Huh ? twitter.com/cbssports/stat…
Philadelphia arguably had one of the deepest rosters in recent years as they added veteran PJ Tucker to the fold, along with De'Anthony Melton, Danuel House Jr. and Montrezl Harrell.
Meanwhile, Joel Embiid and James Harden had the whole season, including training camp, to build their chemistry. The former won the MVP award and his second consecutive scoring title, averaging 33.1 points a game, while the latter led the league in assists per game at 10.7.
However, both players came short when it mattered the most. During Sunday's elimination Game 7 contest against Boston, Embiid tallied 15 points and eight rebounds, shooting 27.8%, while Harden had nine points and seven assists on 27.3% shooting. Harden was a team-worse -30, while Embiid was right behind him at -28.
Harden and Embiid are SCARED!!! Ain’t no other way around it. They should be EMBARRASSED
The role players seemed to have done the job, with Tobias Harris scoring a game-high 19 points on 53.8% shooting, while Tyrese Maxey tallied 17 on 41.6% shooting. PJ Tucker also had 11 points. He went 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
Joel Embiid recorded the worst point differential for an MVP between regular season and playoffs
Joel Embiid's postgame comments may haunt him for a long time. It wasn't the wisest decision to call out the Philadelphia 76ers' supporting cast on a night where he and James Harden worse the team's worst players on the court.
Embiid had a disappointing playoff run overall. He dealt with an injury blow in the first-round series, forcing him to miss Game 4 against the Brooklyn Nets and Game 1 against the Boston Celtics. Surprisingly, the 76ers claimed a win on both occasions.
Embiid had a couple of decent games even after the injury, so it might not come to his aid when critics look at his playoff numbers. The 2023 MVP averaged 23.7 points, shooting a measly 43.1% from the floor and 17.9% from deep.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Joel Embiid's points-per-game differential between the regular season and playoffs was the worst by an MVP in the same year. He averaged 9.4 points fewer in the postseason.