The first day of the NBA season is over, and to nobody’s surprise, we have had a few takes from the Inside the NBA show that the world is talking about. Whether it be rankings of the current NBA players or discussing teams, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal are part of the conversation. Especially from the rival company, where ESPN and Stephen A. Smith passionately disagreed about the discourse around the Philadelphia 76ers star.

“I’m disappointed in Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley. I can’t believe what came out of their mouth,” said Smith on First Take. Shaq and Chuck expressed their displeasure over Joel Embiid’s statement of missing back-to-back games. But Smith clarified why the case is different for the 30-year-old. “Joel Embiid has missed 329 games in his career… foot, knee, health protocols, back, hand, face, ankle, shoulder, calf, hip, elbow, rib… is there a part of the body that I missed?”

Even last season, ‘The Process’ played in only 39 games and is yet to play more than 68 games in a regular season. “This dude has been hurt over every imaginable injury that you can find on the human body. I don’t understand how they can have a problem considering all the injuries he’s sustained,” that’s why Smith disagreed. And the back and forth is just professional, because during the off-season, Smith was the loudest supporter of the Inside crew.

“We hope the whole TNT team stays together no matter who it’s for,” Smith continued by explaining that he has completed 30 years of covering the NBA. “Not seeing those brothers together, it wouldn’t be the same.” As of now, there seems to be no plan for the future of the TNT and the Inside the NBA show. But as per Brian Windhorst, a plan is in place from the 76ers to keep Embiid’s fitness in check.

“But there is a plan in place,” the ESPN Senior Writer stated this because the 76ers have a number of games planned, in which Joel Embiid would appear during the regular season so that he remains fit for the postseason. That’s why Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley are against the 2023 MVP and his stance on load management.

Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley’s fiery response on the first day

A few days ago, Embiid dropped a huge bomb on loyal Philly fans in a conversation with Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “If I had to guess, I would probably never play back-to-backs the rest of my career.” Not just ardent fans, but former players like Chuck weren’t on board with this plan.

“As the best player on that team and a leader, I would never go into a season saying, ‘I’m not going to play back-to-back games.’ I thought that was a bad message.” After his best friend’s rant, even Shaquille O’Neal expressed a similar sentiment and condemned Embiid and the front office of Philadelphia for approving this decision. “You pick and pop. You don’t get double, you don’t get triple, you don’t get flagrant fouls. There’s no reason to say I’m not playing back-to-back.“

Despite only 39 games last season, Embiid scored a career-high 34.7 points during the regular season. And was the only player in the team to breach the 30-point mark. It was the same case in 6 playoff games, where he scored a career-high 33 points. That’s why probably the front office of the 76ers may have decided on the load management of their star player. But, this strategy has never been a favorite of former players and certainly Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley aren’t on board.