After Game 4, Joel Embiid told his piece about the sweep at the hands of the rival Boston Celtics. The expectations were high for this Philadelphia 76ers team and yet again they failed miserably. Now, the Sixers go into an offseason full of misery.
During the series, Joel Embiid averaged 30.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He played well. It just wasn’t enough. The lack of playmaking from Ben Simmons and the continued lack of shot creation hurt the Sixers in the series. During the 2020 NBA Playoffs, everything was put on Embiid and he didn’t feel like it was fair.
According to Rich Hoffman of The Athletic Embiid said:
“I gotta get better… They want me to be Shaq but this league is different. You can’t elbow people, they call offensive fouls, you can’t push people around, it’s hard to post up. You have to move the ball around.”
Shaquille O’ Neal was dominant in his era but things are different nowadays. Embiid will need to control the ball on all areas of the court. Even bring the ball up more. He is the best player and should touch the ball more.
Things in Philadelphia will have to change in the offseason. Getting more shot creation is a start. Playmaking off the bench is needed too. Simmons and Embiid don’t necessary have to split up.
