Visibly shaken by the Toronto Raptors’ latest victory, Philadelphia 76ers star player Joel Embiid began blaming his teammates.
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On Monday night, after the Toronto club won 103-88, the 2021-22 NBA scoring champion said he wanted to see “old James Harden.” The latter scored only 15 points in the last meeting and has averaged 18.4 points per game since the start of the first-round series between the two teams.
“I’ve been saying that since he’s been playing with us. He must be aggressive and become himself again,” said Embiid, whose remarks were reported by the site phillyvoice.com.
“It’s not really my job, it’s more up to the coach [Doc Rivers] talk to him and tell him to take more shots. Especially if they [les Raptors] continue to defend against me as they have done until now. But that’s not really my job.”
The Queen City roster won a second straight game in Game 5 of their series against the 76ers and once again avoided elimination. Toronto is trying to become the first team in NBA history to win a series after trailing 3-0.
Not just Harden
After asking for more of the one acquired from the Brooklyn Nets this season, Embiid also asked for more of all of his teammates.
“We all have to be better offensively,” he said. We missed so many easy shots… When I got passed, we weren’t aggressive in attacking the basket. We just kept moving the ball around the periphery. It gave them time to recover and that’s why we couldn’t do anything.”
Frustrated with the type of game his team has played, Embiid also has to deal with a thumb injury that will require surgery once his season is over.
Game 6 between the 76ers and the Raptors is scheduled for Thursday night at Scotiabank Arena. If the Toronto club wins, the two teams will meet for a final confrontation on Saturday evening.