Sometimes one needs to be criticized in order to have a fire lit under them. In the case of Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid, it lit a big fire under him in order to lead his team to a 115-109 road win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
NBA legends Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley criticized Embiid after his performance against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday. A criticism in which Embiid responded in a positive manner at shootaround on Thursday morning and then he responded in an even bigger way on the court.
He had 38 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists to lead the way and afterward, he said he likes the criticism.
“I like being criticized,” said Embiid. “For them to say I have the potential to be the best player in the world and I haven’t shown that. They’ve been there, they’ve done it, they’re Hall of Famers so it just shows me that I’ve got to play harder and I’ve got to be dominant like I can.”
Embiid shot 12-for-21 on the floor and he looked like he was having fun out there on the floor. He began showing off a lot of emotions like he has in the past, on top of that, he only had two turnovers after struggling so much with it in recent games.
He also gave O’Neal a call to talk things out.
“I gave actually called Shaq yesterday (Wednesday),” he said. “He thought I was mad at him, but I understand what he was saying. I’ve had a down year so far. I just wanted to talk to him. He was just telling me to be aggressive. Just to go out there and dominate. I think it was great for me.”
On top of that, he had a blocked shot and two free throws late to close it out as well as egging his team on in the huddle. This was a step forward for him as a leader.
The Sixers will now head home on Friday to welcome JJ Redick back to Philadelphia when the New Orleans Pelicans come to visit. [lawrence-related id=21161,21154,21145]