Clippers' Ty Lue Claims Embiid, Harden Criticism Was 'Taken Out of Context'

After taking down the Los Angeles Lakers last Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers made a return to Cyrpto.com Arena to take on the other LA-based team, the Los Angeles Clippers, for the second and final time this year.

Although it was the second matchup between the Clippers and the Sixers this season, Friday's game marked the first time the Clippers faced the Sixers with both Joel Embiid and James Harden.

Therefore, a couple of hours before the two teams tipped off, Clippers head coach Ty Lue was asked about the All-Star duo of Embiid and Harden -- and Doc Rivers' former assistant got sightly critical of them.

Lue's Take on Embiid, Harden

"Embiid is number one in the league from the free-throw line, and James is number three, you know?" said Lue. "So, I think if you take away their free throws, neither one of those guys would be in the top ten in scoring. That tells you how much they get to the free-throw line. We just gotta do a good job pulling our hands back and making sure we're playing, not letting them get to the bonus, and doing the sweep rules. They are gonna get some calls because of who they are, but we just gotta make sure we're doing our part."

A live tweet that contained just the first part of Lue's comments went viral on Friday night as it seemed Lue was throwing shade at Embiid and Harden's ability to score without counting on free throws.

While Lue further elaborated during his pregame press conference, the damage was already done. And Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey dished in his opinion the next day after the Sixers defeated the Clippers.

Morey Claps Back

.@LAClippers offense would rank 30th without free throws

Say it with me again - players are fouled because the other team cannot stop them...
h/t r/sixers https://t.co/Mw9hNJLKbf
— Daryl Morey 🗽🏀 (@dmorey) March 26, 2022

Lue Responds Again

Following a practice session on Sunday, Ty Lue addressed the media after the Clippers did some preparation for their upcoming game against the Utah Jazz. Considering Morey made some noise with his response to Lue, the Clippers head coach was once again asked about the comments he made regarding Embiid and Harden.

“They took it out of context…. It don’t bug me. In response to Daryl Morey, should he really be tweeting anything? Last time he tweeted, he cost the NBA a billion dollars so I don’t think he should be doing too much tweeting. Worry about his own team.”

Ty Lue on Daryl Morey pic.twitter.com/8lmIundiC1
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 28, 2022

"They took it out of context," said Lue. "It was said like if we continue to foul those guys, they can score 50. We want them making field goals and not free throws because they're crafty getting to the line, but in response to Daryl Morey, should he really be tweeting anything right now? The 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."

Lue's latest shot directed at the Sixers President is in regards to Morey's critical tweet about Hong Kong back when he was the General Manager of the Houston Rockets.

All Twitter criticism aside, it's clear Lue's comments from Friday night weren't a direct shot at Embiid and Harden's lack of scoring outside of free throws. And if it was, then Lue was undoubtedly proven wrong as Embiid and Harden were a combined 16-34 from the field and knocked down six threes for a combined 38 points, not including free throws, last Friday night.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.