One of the true signs of NBA superstardom is when fans and (especially) opponents start complaining about your excessive flopping, as it’s the easiest way to downplay the display of dominance being shown on the court. Celtics guard Marcus Smart called out Joel Embiid for flopping after Philadelphia’s 117-109 win over Boston, saying the 76ers center “flails” on the court in order to get calls.
When Embiid caught wind of what Smart said about him, he let reporters know just how much he disagreed with the assessment while also saying Smart may want to take a look in the mirror instead of throwing out accusations.
“Marcus Smart just told me that I flail a lot?” Embiid told reporters. “Come on. I’m sure he knows himself, and he knows his game too. He does a lot of that.”
Embiid went 17-of-21 from the free-throw line in the win over the Celtics, but the three-time All-Star said that had more to do with his “basketball IQ” than getting favoritism from the refs. On the contrary, Embiid said that he knows that a lot of fouls against him often won’t be called because he’s a big man.
It’s not hard to see where Smart is coming from, as Embiid took more free throws than the entire Celtics team (20) in the game, but coach Brad Stevens insisted that the problem was with Boston fouling too much rather than Embiid getting preferential treatment.
“We’ve got to do our best to play without fouling,” Stevens said.
