2019 NBA Playoffs: 76ers Players Caught Checking Phone on Bench

The postseason began in less than desirable fashion for the Philadelphia 76ers and after the game, instead of addressing why the team lost Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series to the Brooklyn Nets, the team had other questions to answer.

During the broadcast of the game, cameras caught 76ers bigs Joel Embiid and Amir Johnson reading text messages on Johnson’s phone.

Johnson was listed as inactive for the game so his penalty might be minimal even though using electronic devices on team benches during games is against league rules. Johnson didn’t speak to reporters immediately after the 111-102 loss, but Embiid did.

Embiid told reporters that Johnson’s daughter was “very sick” and Johnson was using his phone to check on his sick child’s welfare. Whether or not Embiid will face any discipline from the league for looking at Johnson’s phone is unclear.

It’s unlikely that anyone will fault Johnson for being concerned about his ill daughter, but there was plenty to criticize regarding Philadelphia’s play on the court on Saturday, April 13.

Brooklyn, the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference bracket, upset the third-seeded 76ers by only turning the ball over twice and scoring 93 points through the first three quarters of the game. The Nets defense was able to hold Philadelphia point guard Ben Simmons to just nine points and three assists in 32 minutes.

Brooklyn got a huge boost off the bench from Caris Levert, Ed Davis and Spencer Dinwiddie. Levert went 8/18 from the field and hit all three of his 3-point shot attempts to contribute 23 points toward the Nets’ Game 1 win. Davis added a double-double performance with 16 rebounds and 12 points. Dinwiddie poured on 18 points on 6/14 shooting, including going 4-for-5 from downtown.

The Nets were led in scoring by D’Angelo Russell, who compiled 26 points. Demarre Carroll and Joe Harris also scored in double figures, recording 11 and 13 points respectively.

The 76ers did get 13 points off the bench from Boban Marjanovic, but that wasn’t enough to overcome other poor performances. Jimmy Butler led Philadelphia with 36 points and Embiid added 22. Embiid also had 15 points to record a double-double. Butler finished one rebound short of a double-double as well.

The poor performance has been an outlier in Simmons’ limited playoff experience. Last year in the playoffs, Simmons averaged 16.3 points and 7.7 assists in 11 games. Simmons recorded four double-doubles during the two series against the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat during the 2017-18 postseason.

The larger culprit was Philadelphia’s defense, however. Brooklyn ran its offense at times seemingly without any opposition, consistently catching 76ers defenders out of position and putting Philadelphia on its heels throughout the game. The situation was especially bad for the 76ers when the Nets’ bench players were on the court. Davis was a +28, LeVert a +18, Dinwiddie a +16 and even Jared Dudley posted a +16 during his 27 minutes.

The 76ers will have to rebound in Game 2 in order to avoid heading to Brooklyn in an 0-2 hole. Hopefully Johnson’s daughter’s health improves and for Philadelphia fans, whatever ailed the 76ers in Game 1 will improve as well.

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