7-time champ Robert Horry criticizes Sixers’ Joel Embiid’s shot selection

7-time NBA champion Robert Horry criticizes Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid’s shot selection in the playoffs.

Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid is one of the dominant players in the game. He led the league in scoring (33.1 points per game) while averaging 10.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He shot 54.8% from the floor. He was terrific on his way to winning the MVP award.

However, Embiid’s efficiency went down. He shot 43.1% from the floor in the postseason and just 42.1% from the floor in the second-round loss to the Boston Celtics. In Game 7 of that series, he shot 5-for-18. Granted, he was dealing with a sprained LCL in his right knee, but he seemed to settle for a lot of shots.

Seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry hopped on the “All the Smoke” podcast, and he criticized Embiid’s shot selection against the Celtics:

If Joel Embiid would have just got more (expletive) buckets by taking his big ass in the paint, they could’ve won that series! But no. He wants to face up and shoot that little ugly fadeaway jumper. Al Horford is killing you because you’re playing in his world. Take him to your world. … You got to take him in your world. That’s why I said by taking your world and bigs trying to cross up little and face up a little, why are you facing a little up? Back his little ass down. I guess I’m too old school sometimes when I try to make the game simple, they make it hard.

Horry was teammates with the great Shaquille O’Neal on the Los Angeles Lakers, so he knows a thing or two about dominant big men. Embiid has explained over and over again that the game is different than back in O’Neal’s day, and he’s absolutely right.

A big man has to be able to score at all three levels now and be able to put the ball on the floor and make plays for others. Embiid does all that. He was, unfortunately, hampered by yet another injury in the postseason.

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