Sixers' Joel Embiid after torching Celtics: 'I like being criticized'
BOSTON — Sometimes players need criticism to light a fire under them. In the case of Joel Embiid, it lit a big fire under him to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-109 road win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
NBA legends-turned-analysts Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley blasted Embiid for his performance against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. Embiid responded to the criticism at shootaround Thursday morning, saying O'Neal and Barkley were right. Then he responded in an even bigger way on the court.
Embiid scored a season-high 38 points to go with 13 rebounds and six assists to lead Philadelphia to the win. Afterward, he said he doesn't mind the criticism.
"I like being criticized," said Embiid. "For them to say I have the potential to be the best player in the world and I haven't shown that. They've been there, they've done it, they're Hall of Famers. So it just shows me that I've got to play harder and I've got to be dominant like I can."
Barkley and O'Neal took aim at Embiid after the Sixers' victory on Tuesday. Embiid had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the 97-92 win over the Nuggets, but Barkley said he wanted to see more from Embiid. Barkley added the Sixers have "no chance" to reach the NBA Finals unless Embiid ups his production.
O'Neal agreed, saying "22 ain’t enough to get you to the next level. You want to be great? Or you want to be good? If you want to be good, keep giving 22 points. You want to be great? Give me 28. Give me 30."
Embiid shot 12-for-21 from the floor Thursday and looked like he was having fun on the floor. He began showing a lot of emotion like he has in the past and only had two turnovers after struggling to take care of the ball in recent games.
He also gave O'Neal a call to talk things out.
"I actually called Shaq yesterday (Wednesday)," he said. "He thought I was mad at him, but I understand what he was saying. I've had a down year so far. I just wanted to talk to him. He was just telling me to be aggressive. Just to go out there and dominate. I think it was great for me."
Embiid sealed the Sixers win with a blocked shot in the waning seconds and two free throws late to close it out.
Sixers Wire is part of the Paste BN Sports Media Group.
