Superstar 76ers center Joel Embiid spoke softly after his team dropped Game 5 to the Toronto Raptors in Philadelphia. Their series lead whittled down to 3-2, Embiid was asked if the Sixers big mid-season acquisition, former NBA MVP James Harden, needed to take more shots and make a bigger contribution. Embiid clearly believed the answer was yes.
But Embiid also made it clear that while he says Harden “needs to be more aggressive,” it isn’t Embiid’s job to tell him so.
That’s “probably on Coach,” Embiid said, meaning that Doc Rivers is the man who needs to teach the James Harden Encouragement Class. “That’s not my job,” Embiid said. Harden took just 11 shots in Game 5.
Embiid, who is having an MVP-caliber season, was overwhelmed by Toronto’s unrelenting defense during the 103-88 loss. Embiid says Rivers should “tell [Harden] to take more shots, especially if they’re going to guard me the way they’ve been guarding.”
