Embiid fighting the idea of a suspension
PHILADELPHIA >> Brett Brown’s promise of “smashmouth” offense and “bully ball” defense grew from clever salesmanship Wednesday to on-court conflict.
With 6:42 left in the third quarter of what would be a
117-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, Joel Embiid was ejected for his part in a multi-player brawl. Physical with each other all night, Embiid and 7-0,
248-pound Karl-Anthony Towns found themselves locking arms after a Sixers defensive stop. As the play flowed toward the other side of the court, Embiid appeared to shove Towns away, with the two tumbling onto the floor.
Several players, with Ben Simmons among the most visible, joined the pile-up. At least one cameraman would brandish a photo appearing to show Embiid shoving a thumb into Towns’ eye.
After the officials checked the replay monitor, Embiid and Towns were tossed. Before leaving, Embiid raised his arms in the style of a triumphant boxer, thrilling the crowd of 20,204. As he turned toward the locker room, the center received a pat from Sixers managing partner Josh Harris.
“That’s what the city of Philadelphia is about,” Embiid said. “You are going to come in and you’re going to fight. You’ve got to play hard. You’ve got to be gritty. You’ve got to be a Broad Street bully. So that’s what it’s all about, fighting and trying to accomplish the goals we have set for us.”
Though improving to 4-0, the Sixers’ may face a more stiff short-term challenge do meet goals, with Embiid almost certain to be hit with a suspension. Early projections were that three games would not surprise. Beginning Saturday night at 10 in Portland, the Sixers will play their next four on the road.
Embiid, however, rejects the idea that he should miss any time at all.
“Personally, I didn’t throw any punches,” he said. “So I shouldn’t be suspended. But they have a history of just over-ruling everything when it comes to me.”
Before the game, Brown acknowledged that the Sixers were likely to present a certain unique challenge to every opponent.
“Initially, you hope to go big ball, bully ball,” he said. “And for if whatever reason, that’s a little too stubborn, a little too arrogant, then I’ll pivot out of it.”
Afterward, he did not pivot from that attitude, even with his “crown jewel” just having risked serious injury and suspension.
“They hear me,” Brown said. “If you went into our practice and listened, we talk about it. It’s our creed. It’s Philly hard. It’s Philly edge. There’s an authenticity. It’s real. Any time we can, we point to examples and say, ‘Yeah, this is Philly hard. This is Philly edge.’ There’s a spirit amongst our team that’s authentic.”
• • • Shake Milton missed the first of at least five games with a knee injury, not that Brown was in a mood to make it much of a topic. “We lose a shooter,” the coach would say without elaboration.
Milton was injured Monday night in Atlanta and will miss the four-game road trip. In the first three games, he had made four of his nine three-point attempts.
Among possible replacements for Milton’s threepoint ability will be Furkan Korkmaz. After Brown had announced that he would try to develop a distance shooter, Korkmaz attempted eight three-point shots Wednesday, draining three.
“Furkan read the newspaper,” Brown said. “I said I wanted to grow a bomber. And he was not bashful.”
Matisse Thybulle has also shown a willingness to shoot, though he was just 1-for-3 from the arc Wednesday.
“I like the fact that he is not gun shy,” Brown said. “We have to continue to educate him on what is a good look. Time and score. Maybe you have Joel Embiid on a roll, and that is a better place to go. But when his feet are set and he is a greyhound and when he is sprinting to the corners and hunting those, I like that part a lot.”
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Even as his team brought a 3-0 record into the game, Minnesota coach Ryan Saunders was wary of the Sixers, their size and their style. He was particularly cautious of Simmons.
“He can do things in a number of ways,” Saunders said. “We understand that you are not going limit everything he does. He is a versatile player. You just want to try to slow him down a little bit.”
Simmons provided 19 points and seven rebounds Wednesday.
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NOTES >> Though seated at courtside and would later receive a strong ovation when introduced, new Phillies manager Joe Girardi did not ring the ceremonial pregame bell. That honor went to the Eagles’ Miles Sanders … With Milton out, Jonah Bolden was activated for the first time and played 2:16, scoring two points … Trey Burke, who was available, has not played in any of the first four games.