Ranking the 15 best performances in the NBA this season
14. Joel Embiid responds to the haters in Boston (12/12/19)
Two days before the Philadelphia 76ers were slated to play the Boston Celtics, Joel Embiid shot 8-of-18 from the field — including 0-of-3 on threes — en route to 22 points against the Denver Nuggets.
22 points is by no means a low total. But given the superstar talent Embiid has at his disposal, it was enough to draw the wrath of Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley on Inside the NBA following the nationally televised broadcast of the Sixers and Nuggets.
"“If you want to be good, keep doing 22 points,” O’Neal said. “You want to be great, give me 28, give me 30. You want to be great, watch Giannis (Antetokounmpo), he wants to be great.” “Joel Embiid is a good player,” Barkley said. “It’s time for him to be a great player.”"
Embiid had heard the comments of the Hall of Famers, acknowledging at shootaround before the game in Boston. His actions hours later, however, did the real talking, to the tune of 38 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in a six-point victory.
The All-Star big man shot 12-of-21 from the field and got to the line 14 times, making 12. He still got off three looks from beyond the arc but managed to can two of them across 36 minutes.
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The knock against Embiid has long been a lack of aggressiveness around the bucket. It’s a perceived mentality due in part to the structure of Philly’s broken offense but also a willingness by Embiid to let those circumstances dictate his positioning at that end.
He might see that as an excuse to play shooting guard, but Shaq and Chuck wouldn’t have made those comments if they thought Embiid wasn’t above all those factors.
With the proper mindset, he’s capable of disrupting any gameplan, and this game against an Eastern Conference foe showed why.