Much has been made about the apparent struggles between Philadelphia 76ers teammates Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. The team isn't playing up to expectations. Much of the blame has been put on a supposed rocky relationship between the two All-Stars.
However, according to Embiid, those rumors are nonsensical.
“I think it’s B.S. because when you look at the last couple years, the last two years we’ve been playing together, it was not a problem,” Embiid said, via Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer . “The issue is only a problem because at times our offense has struggled. I think it’s definitely going to be better after the All-Star break.”
Going into the season, the Sixers had the talent across the board in order to compete for a championship. At the All-Star break, Philadelphia is 34-21 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.
A lack of spacing, poor coaching — a lot of excuses have been thrown out there as to why the Sixers are struggling but perhaps the most popular conspiracy is that Embiid and Simmons simply don't like playing with each other.
Embiid, in particular, has taken this “Villain” role to heart and is often booed by the home crowd at the Wells Fargo Center.
Embiid has missed a chunk of the season so far due to injuries but is still averaging 22.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. However, in the month of February so far, the All-Star big man is shooting just 38.5 percent from the floor while the 76ers struggle to find consistency.
As for Simmons, the 23-year-old star is putting up 16.9 points, 8.3 assists, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game while shooting 58.4 percent from the field.
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