Getty Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers
After the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the Golden State Warriors on March 24, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green called out Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid for an exchange they had after the game.
“A guy like that. You never really want to give him a steady diet of anything because they just figure it out. He told me, ‘You know why I played like that tonight? You said (Nikola) Jokic was the hardest person to guard in the league, so I took that personal.’ So I don’t want to tell y’all that Joel’s the hardest guy to guard,” Green said smiling, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
Joel Embiid had 46 points against Warriors tonight.
Draymond Green: “He said, ‘You know why I played like that tonight? You said Joker was the hardest person to guard in the league. I took that personal.’”
On the night, Embiid put up 46 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists while shooting 13-for-23 from the field and 19-for-22 from the free throw line in a losing effort, but the Sixers can attribute the loss to James Harden being absent.
With the loss, the Sixers are now a game and a half behind the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings, but they could make up some ground in their last regular season matchup against their division rival on April 4.
Draymond Green Believes Joel Embiid is MVP Frontrunner
The topic of MVP has been a very hot discussion among fans and media members this season. As it turns out, among those who believe is the frontrunner for the award is Green himself. He explained why the top three candidates in the league have a case.
“Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo is who I believe the MVP race has come down to,” Green said on his podcast The Draymond Green Show. “[Nikola Jokić], incredible year, as of late he’s slipped and those guys have continued to ascend. As of late the Denver Nuggets have slipped and those two teams have ascended. Both players are absolutely amazing. Giannis the other day had a perfect triple-double which was great.”
Green then added why he believes Embiid is the current frontrunner for the award.
“Right now in the MVP race, I think it’s Joel,” Green said. “I think it’s Joel’s award to lose. I think the way he loses that award is his team starts losing. Joel’s going to put up Joel numbers, Joel going to do what Joel has been doing. It’s Joel’s award to lose.”
Evan Turner Throws Shade at Joel Embiid
Former Sixers lottery pick Evan Turner threw shade at Embiid while explaining why he would pick the Celtics over the Sixers in a playoff series should the two teams meet up.
“I’m taking Celtics every single day, and twice on Sundays,” Turner said on an episode of “Run it Back” on FanDuel TV. “With this history, I think the Boston Celtics just have their number, besides the fact that I like the Celtics’ top eight better than the Sixers’ top eight. The way Embiid’s been playing this year, you have to take into consideration something occurring, but Jayson Tatum, he’s been through this a lot. The team has been playing hella defense. At the same time, Marcus Smart – if he has to shut down Embiid, maybe he can do it. He’s done it before”
Turner played for both teams during his NBA career.