After the Boston Celtics' loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, guard Marcus Smart commented on Joel Embiid's “flailing” abilities to get to the foul line.
However, Sixers head coach Doc Rivers had his player's back, or sort of had his back, as he commented on Smart's ability to identify flopping from a mile away, via Noah Levick of MBCS Philly:
"I think Marcus is an expert at that, so he would definitely know if Joel was doing it. Great actors know great actors, they always have." -Doc Rivers on Marcus Smart's comment about Joel Embiid "flailing" to draw fouls
— Noah Levick (@NoahLevick) January 22, 2021
Smart believed that Embiid was using these tactics all throughout their previous matchup, as this is what he had to say on the matter, via Jared Weiss of The Athletic:
“(Embiid) alone shot 21 free throws, we shot 20. Can't beat that…”We got our hands up a lot of the times and (Embiid) flails and he gets the call. Meanwhile on the other end we attack and we don't get the whistles. It's tough playing like that.”
In response, the Sixers big man wanted the NBA world to know that Smart, who himself does not have the greatest reputation when it comes to flopping, should not be talking, per Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report:
When asked about those comments, Embiid replied in part: “Marcus Smart just told me that I flail a lot? Come on. I'm sure he knows himself and he knows his game, too. He does a lot of that.”
Rivers, though he sort of outed Embiid when trying to defend him, has been around the league long enough to know that Smart and the Celtics just could not find an answer to Embiid's 42 points that he put up the previous game, including the 21 free throw attempts that he had.
Smart, a player who has been called out for evident flopping by the league, will need to find another answer to Embiid's high level of play if they want to win to beat the Sixers on Friday night.
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