The Philadelphia 76ers have the talented Joel Embiid as their star player, but his temper sometimes gets the best of him during games. In Game 3 of the playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, Embiid was given a flagrant 1 foul for kicking Nets player, Nic Claxton.
The incident happened in the second quarter of the game when Claxton boxed out Embiid under the basket. Embiid, frustrated with not getting the ball, kicked Claxton in the chest while trying to free himself. The referees immediately called the flagrant 1 foul, which meant Embiid got two free throws and the 76ers got the ball back.
Embiid, who had 36 points and 14 rebounds in the game, expressed his frustration after the game, saying he didn’t think it was a flagrant, and that Claxton was holding him. However, Embiid later took responsibility for his actions, saying, “I shouldn’t have done it. It was a mistake. I gotta be better than that.”
This isn’t the first time Embiid’s temper has gotten him in trouble during a game. In February 2019, Embiid was involved in a scuffle with Boston Celtics player Marcus Smart, which led to his ejection from the game. In March of the same year, Embiid and Toronto Raptors player, Serge Ibaka were ejected from a game after exchanging punches.
Embiid’s emotions and passion for the game are part of what makes him such a great player, but he needs to learn to control his temper so he doesn’t hurt his team’s chances of winning. His coach, Doc Rivers, addressed Embiid’s emotional outburst, saying, “We just gotta do a better job overall. We can’t get sidetracked by the physicality of the game.”
The Sixers won Game 3 by a score of 131-115, but they will need Embiid to stay focused and under control if they want to continue their playoff run. Embiid apologized to his teammates after the game and promised to be better, and his team will hope he sticks to his word in the rest of the series.
