Embiid responds to Shaq's, Barkley's criticism with big night vs. Celtics
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid responded to criticism from Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal with a monster 38-point, 13-rebound, 6-assist performance in Thursday's 115-109 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Hall of Famers recently called out the All-Star center for failing to impose himself on games and Embiid took their comments to heart.
"For them to say that I have the potential to be the best player in the world, and I haven't shown that, and I should let it be shown, that says a lot," Embiid said postgame, according to ESPN's Tim Bontemps. "They've been there, they've done it, they're Hall of Famers, so it just shows me I have to play harder and like I can."
Embiid was a force on both ends of the floor, finishing with a game-high plus-21 rating and 14 contested shots, per NBA.com. He shot 12-of-21 from the field and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe.
The Cameroon native has had an up-and-down 2019-20 campaign and knows he needs to maintain the same level of aggression he showed Thursday if the Sixers are to meet their championship aspirations.
"I haven't been the closer that these guys needed me to be the whole season, and I just had that opportunity and they kept feeding me," Embiid said. "I put that a lot on my teammates, because the whole game, they made a lot of shots, so it kind of put Boston where they had to choose between quickly double-teaming me, because I was going to kick it out and they all know I'm a willing passer, and we made them make shots, so that made it easier for me."
Embiid's averaging 22.7 points, 12.4 boards, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks across 21 appearances.
Philadelphia is tied for second in the East with a 19-7 record.