Joel Embiid and his Philadelphia 76ers were battling not just the hordes of New York Knicks fans flooding Xfinity Mobile Arena, but they also had to overcome a 0-3 deficit.
After embarrassingly losing Game 1, the Sixers managed to come very close to upsetting the men in orange and blue at Madison Square Garden.
The hope among Philadelphia sports fans was that they could use that momentum into Game 3 at home. But lo-and-behold, most of those fans did not make it to support their team.
Instead, the arena was filled with quite a few Knicks fans. Even though this cannot be used as an excuse, the home side still lost by double digits.
Franchise fans were aware that the big man was battling injuries, but still hoped that he and his teammates would avoid an embarrassing sweep.
I know we lost, and I know that's not the right mentality to have. But for me, this was a success.
Joel Embiid said at the post-game press conferenceWhat he was trying to say is that his knee has been a spot of bother for quite some time. Joel Embiid has been struggling to get healthy, and this year he managed to make good progress.
He understood that losing Game 4 means his team's season is over. But if he had to give an outlook, Embiid believes he had a better year than expected.
The problem with this response was that Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers lost to the New York Knicks by an average of 22 points per game.
That is abhorrent, considering they, too, have a team consisting of four star players and a bunch of impactful rotational support. Fans felt this answer was similar to what Jaylen Brown said recently.
The Celtics' guard faced a lot of backlash for trying to make it about himself. They brought the same energy after listening to the Cameroonian-French-American say this. Check out examples of those reactions below.
Embiid might have had a better year health-wise. But fans felt that he just played in 38 regular-season games, which essentially negates his logic. Had he played more games, this team could have performed better with more games under their belt.
After talking about his health, reporters asked Joel Embiid if he was going to return to the Philadelphia 76ers. He is under contract for three more seasons after signing an extension before the 2024-25 season. But his answer indicates he is not sure.
I don't know who is going to be here. I don't even know if I'm going to be here. Whatever happens, happens.
Joel Embiid saidBefore coming to his future, the seven-time All-Star praised his other starters and went on to talk about how Paul George has proved that he can perform.
But this answer comes about after it was evident last offseason that the franchise was going to give the veterans one more year to prove their worth.
Since they did not meet their goals, it seems Joel Embiid knows some changes could be coming. His answer also indicates that he might not be around if the team believes they are better off without him.
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