NBA Fans React to Myles Turner's Struggles vs. Joel Embiid-Less Sixers
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner went into Sunday night's matchup with a chip on his shoulder. Knowing his opponent has been regarded as an MVP candidate so far this season, Turner felt confident in his matchup against Sixers center Joel Embiid.
“If I am who I think I am, I’m going to step up to the challenge,” Turner told the IndyStar ahead of Sunday's game. Going into the matchup, Turner was averaging 14 points-per-game, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 4.1 blocks. In other words, he's having a good season, and the confidence was warranted.
However, making a statement like that put him under a microscope. So, anything less than an above-average performance was sure to have Turner being talked about on social media for all of the wrong reasons.
Embiid ended up sitting out Sunday's game due to back tightness. But that didn't stop Sixers fans from keeping a close eye on the matchup between Turner and Philly's two backup centers, Tony Bradley and Dwight Howard.
Bradley, a 23-year-old offseason trade acquisition for the Sixers, got the start against Turner and the Pacers on Sunday night. While Howard typically gets the nod, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers made it clear that he prefers Howard to run with the group that comes off the bench.
Bradley's presence in the Sixers' starting lineup worried some, but the young veteran was up for the challenge. And so was Howard. Turner, who entered the matchup confident as ever, failed to make a major impact.
In 29 minutes of action, Turner scored just nine points off six shots, with six of those points coming from the charity stripe. After collecting five rebounds and blocking a single shot, Turner fouled out against the Sixers as the Pacers collapsed and allowed Philly to come back from a double-digit deficit and win the game.
While there is plenty of blame to go around on Indiana's side, 76ers fans on social media simply couldn't let Turner off the hook as he failed to impress against a Joel Embiid-less Sixers team on Sunday night.
