The Philadelphia 76ers have the series in their favor against the Brooklyn Nets with a commanding 3-0 lead. However, only days after the whole Draymond Green saga, it seems like another player has landed himself in somewhat of the same situation. And it has gotten so out of hand that NBA legends Charles Barkley and Shaquille O?Neal demand the same level of punishment for the six-time All-Star.
A few days ago, Draymond Green received a flagrant two-foul for stepping on Domantas Sabonis? chest. That led to Green?s suspension which managed to catch the Golden State Warriors front office off-guard as well. Now, Embiid showed his skills with his legs.
Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal demanded justice
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An incident with the same or even worse intention took place on Thursday, according to Philadelphia 76ers legend Charles Barkley. Embiid kicked Claxton in the crotch, which earned him a flagrant one-foul right away. Now, the hosts on Inside the NBA beg to differ why Embiid got a flagrant one whereas Draymond got a flagrant two-foul instead.
While talking about the incident, Charles Barkley said, ?I think his was worse than Draymond?s, to be honest with you. Because he tried to kick a guy in his junk. I mean, you know what he was trying to do.?
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That made Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O?Neal jump in right away as he added, ?I mean, so what?s the law?? Barkley went on to talk about how Embiid should?ve been ejected, in his opinion, for kicking Claxton in his private parts.
Chuck: “I think his was worse than Draymond’s, to be honest with you. … I thought he should have got ejected.”
The Inside Guys react to Embiid’s Flagrant 1 pic.twitter.com/8OsyLU3Nsx
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2023
That is when Shaq said, ?Whatever the law is, we go by the law. So, if one guy gets to spend another game, I?m not saying kick the man. I?m just saying like that?s supposed to be the law.?
Did Joel Embiid get away with it?
The incident between Joel Embiid and Nic Claxton took place right away as the game started. Given that the Nets had the home-court advantage, Claxton may have gotten lost in his emotions. With over nine minutes left to play in the first quarter, Mikal Bridges threw a lob to the Nets center. Claxton finished the alley-oop and also managed to knock down Embiid to the ground.
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As Embiid was on the ground, Claxton, in the heat of the moment, decided to step over Embiid, which did not sit well with the seven-foot center.?
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And as soon as Embiid kicked Claxton, the latter ended up falling on the floor as well. Now, the officials already made the decision to not give Embiid a Flagrant two.
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But was he deserving of it? Would the outcome of the game be different had Embiid been ejected? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.