Earlier this season, Hassan Whiteside said he and Joel Embiid are done battling off the court, but they reignited their on-court rivalry on Thursday night.
The two bigs got into it once more in Thursday’s Heat-Sixers game, with on-court contact leading to a bit of jawing after a battle inside. With the score tied at 57 in the third quarter, Embiid went up to the rim for a basket and was denied by the Heat center.
Play continued up the court, but Embiid and Whiteside got tied up as the two ran up with one another.
Hassan Whiteside and Joel Embiid getting chippy. 👀 pic.twitter.com/1lFEeK07G3
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 9, 2018
If you look closely at the replay, however, you’ll notice that Embiid doesn’t actually hit Whiteside. What actually happens is Whiteside’s arm makes contact with Embiid’s, causing the Heat big man to hit himself in the face.
Still, Whiteside was very upset, motioning to officials that Embiid had made contact with him and appearing to ask for a flagrant foul. Embiid, meanwhile, seemed mostly confused, as he did not appear to intentionally do anything to Whiteside after the play.
Their beef, if you remember, started because Embiid poked fun at Whiteside for worrying too much about his individual stats and not whether the Heat were winning games. The number that matters here is a block for Whiteside, which I’m sure he’ll appreciate, and beyond that, he’ll be happy the Heat picked up a 108-99 win. But we’ll see if this sparks anything off the court from either player.
