Getty Sixers star Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons have an offseason full of question marks in Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid unintentionally caused a Twitter ruckus on Thursday night when he posted a picture of a mega roll of Charmin’s “ultra-soft” bath tissue. No, he wasn’t taking a shot at disgruntled teammate Ben Simmons.
The Philadelphia 76ers big man was commenting on his native Cameroon losing to Egypt in the Afcon 2022 semifinals. The team lost on penalty kicks allowing Egypt to advance to the Africa Cup of Nations final for the 10th time. Embiid, of course, is a huge soccer fan and followed his toilet paper tweet up with subsequent commentary on the match.
Had to stop watching in overtime cuz we took off but just watched it and I can’t believe my eyes… they were so badly taken
Like How do you miss 4 penalties? Bruno would NEVER.
Embiid was clearly venting frustration at Cameroon, but Sixers fans were quick to take it as a jab at Simmons. To be fair, the timing was curiously impeccable. Shaquille O’Neal recently referred to Simmons as Embiid’s “soft partner” in a scathing rant on TNT, then he doubled down by calling him a “crybaby” on a podcast. It wouldn’t be that far-fetched for Embiid — one of the most social media savvy players in the NBA — to be subliminally planting the seed. Either way, the Philly faithful took it and ran with it.
Heck, even the official Charmin brand got in on the fun and coined the term “Flush The Process.”
@alexismorgan @JoelEmbiid It’s in reference to Cameroon losing in the African nations cup today but I’m enjoying everyone thinking it’s about something else 🤣
@JoelEmbiid Over here wishing this was about Ben Simmons 😂😂
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Is James Harden Frustrated in Brooklyn?
The Brooklyn Nets have dropped six straight games as rumors of James Harden’s unrest swirl. Following a 112-101 loss to Sacramento on February 2, the 2018 MVP hinted at “internal” problems. Harden finished with just four points and six turnovers against the Kings.
“We just got a lot of different things internally, lineups, we haven’t had no continuity yet,” Harden said, via Clutch Points. “So it’s just one of those things where you just gotta keep going, nothing else to do, keep going, keep pushing forward.”
“We just got a lot of different things internally, lineups, we haven’t had no continuity yet so ….
Have they hit a breaking point with all the setbacks?
“I dunno, I’ve never had a six game losing streak, I do know that.”
-James Harden was frustrated after loss to the Kings.
There are reports that he doesn’t like the way Nets head coach Steve Nash tinkers with rotations at the end of games or that Kyrie Irving is a part-time player due to his vaccination status. Brooklyn (29-22) has fallen all the way down to No. 6 in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers (31-20) are holding down the No. 3 seed.
Sixers Looking to Bounce Back
Philadelphia is coming off a brutal 106-103 loss to Washington which snapped a five-game winning streak. Embiid scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds but uncharacteristically missed his fair share of shots. The whole team seemed to be in a funk, unable to find their offensive rhythm. The Wizards pushed the pace and the Sixers couldn’t catch up.
“Yeah, I mean like coach said when he came in the locker room it took us a little time to get going,” Tyrese Maxey said. “It took us a long time to get going and we had a slow start and it was hard for us to recover.”
Have liked the Sixers running this high-low action to get Embiid a post up. Wizards do a good job sitting on it, Dinwiddie helps off Thybulle. Other thing is you see Embiid go quick before the double can come.
“These games happen, try not to let them happen,” Georges Niang said. “Credit to them, they made shots down the stretch, but you know definitely have to come out with more intensity in the first half.”