Charles Barkley calls for person who leaked 76ers' drama to be 'punched in face'
Today at 09:33 PM
The Philadelphia 76ers’ season hasn’t gone according to plan so far, as Philadelphia currently sits at 3-13. The 76ers sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game ahead of the Washington Wizards.
This season has been defined by injuries in Philadelphia. Tyrese Maxey has missed time with a hamstring injury, Paul George is currently out after hyperextending his knee for the second time, and Joel Embiid is still managing his knee injury.
Things went from bad to worse last week when a leaked report surfaced about a 76ers team meeting after a blowout loss to the Miami Heat. In that meeting, Maxey called Embiid out for constantly being late to team activities.
On Tuesday night, Charles Barkley noted that Embiid must be responsible and start showing up on time to things, but also said that the report should have never been made public on TNT NBA Tip-off.
"You cannot be late all the time… Joel [Embiid] needs to own that"
Chuck weighs in on the drama in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/xLadcnh4TN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 27, 2024
“You can’t be late all the time,” Barkley said. “That’s disrespectful to your teammates and your coaches and everybody. You can’t be late. Joel has to own that. But whoever leaked that to the press needs to be punched in the face. In a team meeting, those are secret. You can’t tell out secrets in a team meeting. when you’re in those meetings, they’re very personal especially when you call out a guy like that. Joel has to own being late all the time, but that should have never gotten to the press.”
The 76ers are off on Tuesday night while other teams around the league catch up in NBA Cup play, but they will host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Joel Embiid must play better for 76ers to climb back into playoff picture
The selling point around this 76ers team coming into this season was that it was the best supporting cast Joel Embiid has ever had during his time in Philadelphia. Paul George is arguably the biggest star to play next to Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey blossomed into a star in the backcourt last season.
This roster should be good enough to compete for an Eastern Conference title, especially with the contributions of rookie guard Jared McCain. McCain looks like a star on the offensive end so far in his young career and has kept the 76ers afloat at times this season when they have been shorthanded.
Injuries have derailed that early in the season, but those star players have also not played up to their standard so far this season. George hasn’t looked like himself, Maxey is still working his way back from injury and Embiid looks a step slow on the floor.
The status of the big man is the most troubling. Embiid hasn’t had his usual impact in his four games this season, averaging just 19.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The star big man also appears to be moving at half speed. Hopefully, that is just a product of getting his knee back in playing shape and not the result of all of his past injuries and he can get back to full strength soon.
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