Getty Tyronn Lue sends a message.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers appear to have a bit of bad blood brewing after Tyronn Lue took a shot at James Harden and Joel Embiid.
It all began when the Clippers coach was asked about stopping Embiid and Harden from getting to the line before the two teams faced off. Lue believed it was an inevitability that the pair would get there, but he seemed to indicate the calls they got weren’t always earned.
“Embiid is number one from the free throw line and James is number three,” he said. “I think they said if you take away their free throws neither one of those guys would be in the top ten in scoring, so it just tells you how much they’re getting to the free throw line. We just got to do a good job pulling our hands back, making sure we’re playing, not letting them get into the bonus and do the sweep-throughs. They’re going to get some calls because of who they are, but we just got to make sure we’re doing our part.”
This caused Morey to defend his guys and mention how without free throws the Clippers would have a historically bad offense.
“LA Clippers offense would rank 30th without free throws,” he tweeted. “Say it with me again – players are fouled because the other team cannot stop them…”
Naturally, the Clippers coach was asked about Morey’s response. Lue fired back with some comments of his own.
Lue Shoots Back
The Clippers coach got a dig in against Morey by mentioning the last time something he tweeted went viral, it led to Chinese sponsors dropping the NBA and cost the league an estimated $400 million over Morey’s stance of supporting Hong Kong.
“Should he really be tweeting anything right now,” Lue asked. “Last time he tweeted he cost the NBA a billion dollars. So I don’t think he should be doing too much tweeting. Just worry about his own team.”
As of right now, that appears to be the end of the feud as the two teams won’t play each again this season barring an unexpected Finals matchup between the pair.
Anything to Worry About?
GettyJames Harden makes a good living at the foul line.
Sixers fans don’t have a lot to be concerned about because getting to the free throw line, no matter how it’s done, shouldn’t be viewed as a bad thing.
While Embiid and Harden are among the best at getting to the line, it’s only a testament to how good the duo is. It also helps that the two of them are good at knocking down their free throw shots so they can take advantage of their frequent opportunities.
From the point of view of an opposing team, it can be very annoying to see them at the line so often, and maybe it is a real gripe to have. Unfortunately for Tyronn Lue and the rest of the NBA, it’ll be their problem to solve going forward.
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