The 76ers lost to the Raptors, 113-102, last night.
What happened?
Philadelphia center Joel Embiid:
We turned the ball over a lot, and we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, and I sucked.
I wasn’t making anything. In fact, the last few games, I’ve been so trash. So, I’ve got to figure that part out if I want to help the team win some games.
Embiid is the ultimate trash-talker. Not only does he trash-talk opponents, he trash-talks himself!
And he isn’t completely wrong.
Embiid had a dud yesterday, scoring 10 points on 5-of-17 shooting with four turnovers and five fouls (though 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals). He wasn’t sharp in a win over the Grizzlies on Sunday, and he did enough – though didn’t dominate – in a blowout victory over the Wizards on Friday.
Stars have stretches like this. It has been just three games. Toronto is a good team with depth to give Embiid trouble.
There’s no need for panic in Philadelphia, but if Embiid is motivated to improve, all the better.