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Is this your MVP? Struggling to go past a 37 year old Al Horford. Settling for a fadeaway and air balling it.
This matchup produced the same results again, and again, as Embiid went 5 of 18 in a do or die game 7.
Not to mention last game where he didn’t even attempt a shot in the final 4 minutes as the Sixers choked away their shot to go to the conference finals.
Heck, he was my MVP as well and I can’t believe this epic downfall for him and for Philly overall. So let’s go deeper and expose everything.
The Celtics were comfortable leaving Horford on him and just occasionally sending a second guy not even to double, but just to be in the area to take a jab. And once again he delivered with some monster plays on defense.
So what did Embiid do in the postgame? Joel complained that he and Harden cannot win with this team.
This is the same exact way that he threw Ben Simmons under the bus.
Even tho he’s got a huge role in this loss.
First of all his production dropped from 33.1 points per game during the regular season to 23.7 in the playoffs. Almost a 10 point dropoff is by far the biggest by an MVP in NBA history.
For a guy that prides himself on dominating defenders, this is inexcusable.
I mentioned the end of game 6 debacle where he didn’t even attempt a shot for 4 minutes.
How can you blame the others for not supporting you when you didn’t even lead when it mattered the most.
For contrast Jayson Tatum stayed aggressive at the end despite having a miserable game shooting the ball.
Check this out. Tatum was 1 for 14 up to those final 4 minutes of the game where he took over and went 4 for 5 from downtown.
This actually reminded me of a game where Kobe Bryant refused to stop shooting and after going 2 for 20, 2 for 20 from the field, with his team down in the clutch he raises up for the shot that would give them the lead and ultimately the win.
So yeah, Embiid missed his opportunity last game and instead of defending himself and Harden, they are the ones that should actually take responsibility.
And Harden gave us the biggest flip flop series that I’ve ever seen from a player.
He was unstoppable in 2 of the games scoring 45 and 42, but at the same time in the other games he was 2/14, 3/14, 4/16 and finally a horrific 3 for 11 in the deciding game 7.
These are definitely his last days as a prolific player in the league and if he decides to opt out of his contract this summer, I have no idea which team would offer him a large chunk of money.
Another guy that definitely plays a big role in this loss is Doc Rivers.
I mean look at the spacing right here on this possession. Nobody moves, there’s no play, nothing going on. And Embiid is clearly going nowhere with this wall in front of him, and of course this ends as a turnover.
Rivers failed to adjust to Boston’s defense and once again loses a game 7 which is his 5th in a row.
5 straight games 7 losses and he’s got 10 overall.
Last time Doc as well threw Ben Simmons under the bus, then in the meantime just a few weeks ago he went on ESPN and put all the blame on the Clippers players during their time together saying that they were never going to win. Basically trying to avoid responsibility for those losses.
Well, after all that time, all these games and excuses, and yet another playoff failure I am not sure how Doc can avoid being fired especially after we saw that happen with much more successful coaches in recent years like Bud, Nick Nurse and Monty Williams.
Another early exit for Philadelphia and something tells me that there will be more drama with this roster in the offseason.
Who’s the most to blame for this? Let me know in the comments. Subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.
14 май 2023
