Retour
The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 123-101 on Tuesday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena, with Paul George pouring in a game-high 36 points for Boston to help grab a win against his former team.
The loss dropped Philadelphia to 9-3, and before the final buzzer, fans were already pitching a swap that would send Joel Embiid to the Washington Wizards for Anthony Davis after the 76ers star’s underwhelming outing.
While much of the pregame focus was on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Embiid had his own struggles.
The seven-time All-Star finished with 16 points in 31 minutes, but 11 of them came at the free-throw line, where he went 11-for-13. From the field, he shot 2-for-9, including 1-for-3 from deep, to go with 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 turnovers.
The cold shooting did not start on Tuesday, as Embiid went 0-for-9 from the field in Friday’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers and 7-for-19 two days later against the Chicago Bulls.
One fan was blunt about where Philadelphia should turn next, writing, “Before Embiid injures himself into retirement, Sixers should be on the phone with the Wizards for a trade for AD right now.”
They then turned to Embiid’s play and his standing with the franchise: “He looks lost on the floor and can’t move whatsoever. Sixers fans, is it time to move on from the Process?”
The loss still left Philadelphia second in the East, and Embiid was not the only 76er to struggle Tuesday. Tyrese Maxey led Philadelphia with 24 points, but LeBron James scored 11 on 4-for-12 shooting.
Jaylen Brown had 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting, and the team went 11-for-37 from 3-point range. Embiid’s minus-8 plus-minus was also better than the marks for James (minus-17) and Brown (minus-27).
Yet fans continued to take aim at Embiid, as one hoops fan remarked, “Embiid, it might be over I’m ngl.”
Three more fans went straight to the deal, each naming Davis as the player they’d want in return. One laid it out in its simplest form: “Embiid for Anthony Davis.”
Another fan urged Philadelphia to pull the trigger: “Not even joking, trade Embiid for AD.”
Lakers content creator Anthony Irwin landed on the same move and wrote, “I keep thinking about an Embiid-AD swap.”
Davis, the target of those pitches, has been piling up points in his last three appearances. He had 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 steals in a 103-94 win against the Orlando Magic, then posted 26 points and 10 rebounds in a 120-105 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Nov. 4.
The Wizards forward topped both performances Monday night in Detroit, scoring 44 points on 16-for-21 shooting with 13 rebounds in 34 minutes of action.
Embiid, meanwhile, is now 9-for-37 from the field over his last three games, and his next chance to quiet the trade calls comes Thursday, when the 76ers host the Toronto Raptors.