February 01, 2024
Isaiah J. Downing/USA Today Sports
A Nuggets fan makes fun of Joel Embiid for not suiting up for the Sixers in Denver.
The blame game is a fickle beast. If left untamed, it grows more wild and out of control by the day – ultimately eating itself and anyone in the near proximity.
Coupled with the new 65-game rule, some within the Sixers believe that a recent wave of scrutiny from him missing the previous two games prior to Tuesday night at Golden State is what pressured Embiid into playing, per The Athletic's Sam Amick. The reality is the Sixers got caught doing what they’ve been doing over the past few seasons; giving in to Embiid’s demands to play. All for the MVP. Or the DPOY. Or maybe it’s both. Maybe it’s trying to do something that even Wilt Chamberlain hasn’t accomplished in the regular season.
Either way — these are the motivations for Embiid playing, not a handful of internet strangers making up NBA Twitter publicly shaming him into taking the floor when he was clearly far from 100 percent.
Before we even look at how this isn’t the NBA’s fault, let’s slam the door on the public pressure.
The only people who matter from a public pressure standpoint would be those giving out awards. If Embiid never won the MVP — he did last year — then maybe there’s some weird case that he listened to the chatter. Even listening isn’t acting.
So, instead of shutting the door on people with no real face or name associated with their Twitter account, Embiid and the Sixers seem to have deflected blame. As preposterous as it is on its surface that Embiid would cave to any public pressure, it actually gets worse in the context of how the NBA works.
No star player is going to play through an injury unless he wants to play through it. The increased level of stardom — like with Embiid being a superstar — only solidifies who makes the decisions. Players, agents, and the company that supplies their sneakers offer far more leverage than a team doctor or general manager. We are left to believe that one of the most influential players in the entire league jeopardized his own health to quiet the “haters” on Twitter.
This isn’t a knock on Embiid, rather on the explanation given.
I’ve mentioned plenty of times that Embiid should sit a bunch of games throughout the regular season, sacrificing his own personal accolades for better health in the playoffs. This isn’t that. It’s pushing through another meaningless game because people called him out for missing games.
Eytan Shander is a long time radio and TV personality in Philadelphia. In addition to his weekly column, you can currently listen and watch him on Fox29’s Good Day and other sports shows. He’s giving betting advice on OddsShopper. A lifetime Eagles fan, Eytan lives just outside the city with his wife.
Follow Eytan on Twitter: @shandershow
