Even after suffering a painful loss at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks in round 2 of the Eastern Conference playoffs, Joel Embiid is confident he can get better for the next season.
The big man did everything he could to lead his team to the ECF, but several factors prevented them from achieving their goal. Besides Ben Simmons’ struggles at the free-throw line and Doc Rivers’ lack of adjustments, Embiid played with a torn meniscus, which made things harder for him.
He still went off on the Hawks, posting big numbers for his team. However, that is not the end for the Cameroonian. He wants to be better and vowed to get better after the series was over.
“[I] just gotta be better. Personally I felt like I took a huge step this year, and there’s so much more I can do,” Embiid said, via CBS Sports. “I can be so much better… There’s so much more I can do. I progressed a lot this year, and next year I’m going to be even better… It’s on me. I got to be better. I got to take another step with it comes to taking care of my body, and my game as a whole because I still feel like I have a lot of untapped potential that people haven’t really seen.”
The Sixers have a lot of work to do this offseason. Just when they look like a legit title contender, their woes showed up, preventing them from playing for a spot in the NBA Finals.
They finished the regular season with the best record in the East, but none of that mattered in the playoffs. Trae Young and his Hawks wanted it more, and they took it despite having everything against them.
