The Philadelphia 76ers were better than the Cleveland Cavaliers over 24 minutes of basketball on Sunday afternoon. The defending NBA champions began the afternoon contest in Philly with an unthinkable shooting drought which helped give the Sixers a 58-52 halftime lead. However, Joel Embiid was up to stuff, and that is always entertaining, even in a vacuum.
During that first half, Embiid accumulated six points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots. His best highlight came in displaying impeccable body control to finish in traffic despite the best efforts of Cleveland forward Richard Jefferson. As you can see above, Embiid contorted his 7-foot-2 frame in a way that shouldn’t be allowed for a man that size and, after the play was complete, the rookie big man had some words for the veteran in Jefferson. As you may expect, Jefferson did not take kindly to whatever was said, and even LeBron James was in the mix in the aftermath.
As any NBA fan knows at this point, it isn’t as if Joel Embiid is shy about expressing himself both on and off the court. Still, it takes some gall to go after a veteran on the level of Jefferson in this way, especially when he is a member of the reigning champs. Joel Embiid is going to Joel Embiid, though, and that is a lot of fun.
