Joel Embiid Holds 76ers Accountable After Game 3 vs. Celtics

Perhaps Joel Embiid’s postgame quote about players needing to show up was taken out of context by the social media world after the Philadelphia 76ers dropped Game 3 against the Boston Celtics at home.

When Embiid mentioned the words “players have to show up,” following a game where the trio of scorers James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, and Tobias Harris totaled ten successful shot makes from the floor while combining for 106 minutes, many were quick to conclude Embiid was throwing his guys under the bus.

That wasn’t the case. Philadelphia’s six-time All-Star was asked a simple question along these lines: Will game-to-game adjustments make more of a significant difference in this situation, or does success moving forward depend more on the play for the guys on the court? That’s when Embiid felt the need to point to the obvious — the Sixers do, in fact, need to be better.

“Players have to show up,” said the MVP. “You know, I gotta do my job. Other guys, everybody knows their role, they have to do their job. Players have to show up.”

The Sixers couldn't shoot more than 40 percent from the field in Game 3 coming off of a lackluster Game 2 performance on the road in Boston. After members of the Sixers vowed to get better after reviewing film and diagnosing Game 2's struggles, the Sixers didn’t look much better in their follow-up act.

“Obviously, you can make any adjustments you want, but if the players don’t execute and they don’t show up, and we don’t make shots, then that’s on us,” Embiid continued. “I gotta be better. We all got to be better. We just haven’t been good enough in the last few games. No sense of urgency. Like I said, it’s the small things.”

In a series where the Sixers have a lot to prove, considering they haven’t advanced past the second round since the early 2000s, they haven’t looked like the squad that wants it more.

Over the last two games, the Sixers have been out-hustled and out-scored, which was something Embiid and the head coach Doc Rivers noted on Friday night.

“They're winning the possession game overall,” Doc Rivers explained. “The last two games, and to me, that's been the deciding factor. They didn’t shoot well, they shot 44 percent, and we shot 39 percent. We shot better from the three, but they got extra possessions. … It was really the extra possessions.”

“I think we’ll be fine guarding them in the half-court,” Embiid added. “It’s just those loose ball situations and offensive rebounds. They knock down the three, it just changes everything.”

Doc Rivers and the Sixers’ coaching staff can draw up game plans and share words of motivation all week, but if the Sixers can’t execute what they’ve been working on all season, then they won’t have much life left in the 2023 playoffs.

Going down 1-2 isn’t the end of the world for the Sixers, but they are approaching dangerous territory heading into Game 4. Saturday will be another opportunity for the Sixers to go back to the drawing board and strategize for Sunday’s outing, but none of it will matter unless Embiid and the Sixers come out and play better as a unit.