“Playing My Butt Off”: 76ers Center Breaks Down after Committing Crucial Mistakes During Celtics Defeat

Philadelphia 76ers are having a nightmarish post-season. They have now lost to the Boston Celtics three games in succession. No team has ever overcome a 0-3 deficit, and it makes things even harder for them hereon.

The 76ers are also struggling with their weak offense. They are averaging below 99 points per game in the NBA Playoffs 2020. However, in the Orlando Bubble seeding games, they averaged 120+ points per game. That is a sharp fall, and they got to fix this if they want to prevent a white-wash. 

Joel Embiid opens about his feelings on the 76ers losing

Joel Embiid is pushing as hard as he can. But this one crucial mistake that came from Embiid’s end cost them the game. The 76ers were 94-92 ahead and only 1.5 minutes were left in the game. A miscalculated pass from Joel went directly to Celtics guard Marcus Smart and cost them heavily. Then, a forced shot from Embiid got blocked by Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. The mistakes awarded six points to the Celtics, and the Sixers failed to recover.

In a post-game interview, he expressed his feelings and detailed where his side fell short. The Process revealed, “Sucks, but you can’t give up, we can do it. Looking at the game tonight, we couldn’t make a shot. Nothing could go in. I thought defensively, we did a better job. We got some mistakes in the fourth… Defensively we were good and offensively no one could make a shot.”

The 76ers were just four points short when they entered the third quarter, but still failed to pull breaks on Celtics. Joel then added with some determination, “But you can’t give up, you got to keep fighting, you got to play hard, you got to come in on Sunday. I don’t want to be swept, I don’t want that on my resume. I’ve been playing my butt off & I am going to come in & do everything that I can to make sure that we win a game and take one game at a time.”

He emphasized on the fact that they have to do more if they need to win. It appeared as if he was sending a message to his own squad to wake up and do something.

The Process is really a one-man show

Leaving those crucial mistakes aside, Joel posted 30 points and 13 rebounds in game 3. Although his FG% was just 35, he at least got yet another double-double. He is helping the team get key turnovers, but they’re unable to capitalize on them.

The man is averaging 30 ppg in the post-season, but that is far from enough. The Celtics have the trio of Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown at their rescue, but such depth is missing in a largely inexperienced 76ers.

Shake Milton is performing well under pressure as he posted 13 points in game 3. The team needs more from forward Tobias Harris because he can really cover those offensive problems for the Sixers. 

The two teams will play game 4 on Sunday, August 23 at 1 PM ET, ABC. Let’s see if the Sixers can post their first win.