76ers big man Joel Embiid is the likely MVP of the league and the de-facto superstar of the Philadelphia 76ers. But as Embiid proved on Thursday night, even the biggest stars can make foolish mistakes.
In his team’s matchup against the Nets for Game 3 of the first round, Joel Embiid lost control and kicked Nic Claxton after being stepped over.
Embiid KICKS Nic Claxton after stepping over him 😳 https://t.co/gsOzepO4lZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 20, 2023
Claxton was obviously antagonizing Embiid on purpose, and it ended up giving his team a pretty big advantage. Embiid, who was having a dominant series, was given a flagrant one foul with the potential for the league to issue a suspension.
The ruling: technical foul on Nic Claxton, and a flagrant foul level one on Joel Embiid.
Reminder for later: four flagrant foul points equals a one-game suspension. Embiid now has one. https://t.co/vGO4ag4NZZ
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 20, 2023
So Embiid was allowed to stay in the game, and that was seemingly the end of it… until fans started comparing this incident to Draymond Green’s suspension. Draymond was suspended yesterday for his altercation with Domantas Sabonis, which shares a lot of similarities to Embiid’s outburst.
The difference is Dray was suspended for his crimes, while Embiid will likely escape with just a flagrant foul.
Joel Embiid just kicked Nic Claxton in the nuts, received a Flagrant 1 and stayed in the game.
This is two days after Draymond Green got ejected AND suspended for kicking a dude who was grabbing his foot.
pic.twitter.com/jCGoCWWeym
— Guru (@DrGuru_) April 20, 2023
https://twitter.com/scottsucks_/status/1649197067057737731
It will be interesting to see how the NBA handles this. On one hand, it seems unfair for Embiid to get away with something that Dray cannot. On the other hand, Green’s history of reckless behavior is clearly something to consider.
Regardless, many across the NBA community have expressed frustration and outrage over the league’s decision, even though it will do nothing to change what happened.
Can Joel Embiid Lead 76ers To A Title?
Putting aside Joel’s poorly timed moment today, he has been a strong and very capable leader for the 76ers since taking the reigns. Despite many early playoff losses, he has always shown up when needed most and usually avoids costly mistakes.
This year, though, Embiid seems to be letting the pressure get to him, and it could make things more difficult for the 76ers as the playoffs roll on. That’s not to mention all the other things that could potentially hold Philly back from reaching their goals.
For now, though, they can just keep riding this wave and hope that it carries over into the next few rounds.
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