The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves as the 5th seed in the Western Conference, but they are just 1.5 games ahead of the team in 9th. The Sixers went all in on making things happen this year, with acquisitions of top role players following their move for James Harden last season. Naturally, this means that the expectations are a lot bigger than they were before and a lot more fans are panicking.
If there is some relief that Sixers fans can feel, it’s that Joel Embiid is playing at an incredible level. Although injuries have been an issue again, Embiid is leading the league in points per game when he has played. He has put up multiple 50-point performances already. But some fans aren’t satisfied with the team, and some are suggesting that the problem is with Doc Rivers, who should be fired. And Embiid, who was recently asked about this, had an interesting response.
Joel Embiid Claims Some Sixers Fans Want To Trade Him, Says He’s Doing His Job The Best He Can
Joel Embiid has embraced the city of Philadelphia during his time with the Sixers, but the fanbase is both demanding and sharp. Ben Simmons knows all about how intense and toxic it can get to play in Philly, although he handled himself well. And it seems that in his interview with Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, even Embiid said something that suggests some can be too demanding.
Joel Embiid: “I don’t know. Sixers fans, they want to trade me.”
Jake Fischer: “You don’t believe that.”
Joel Embiid: “I do believe that. They want to trade me.”
Jake Fischer: “They don’t all want to trade you. They want certain people to, uh, be relieved of their duties and, uh, certain people to depart the franchise.”
Joel Embiid: “Look, all I can do is try to do my best every game. I’m grateful to be in this position, because it’s not an easy job. If it was easy, everybody would do it.”
Jake Fischer: “You mean being a franchise player?”
Joel Embiid: “Yeah, when you’re actually the best offensive player, the best defensive player, you gotta make plays. It’s not easy every single night. We all … we can’t be perfect. We all make mistakes sometimes. You can’t be perfect. Like the Utah game [when Embiid scored 59 points in November]. You can turn the ball over in the fourth quarter. It happens. But I don’t know. I’m just trying to do the best job possible to put my team in the best position to try to win something.”
It’s safe to say that perhaps the pressure of expectations is not what Embiid wants at the moment. He will be an MVP-caliber player as long as he is on the floor, but if he wants the pressure to go down, he needs to carry his team to a deep playoff run. They have all the pieces now, and almost no excuses left.
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