TNT analyst Charles Barkley was not impressed with the way Joel Embiid conducted himself after the Sixers’ brutal 104-101 loss to the Knicks on Monday.
The Sixers star finished with 34 points, ten rebounds, and six assists, but still dropped Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
Embiid was unable to hide his frustration and disappointment after the game as he did his entire postgame interview with his head in his hands.
Barkley said this kind of behavior is not what the team’s leader should be projecting.
“What I’d like to see from Joel, he’s gotta get his head up,” Barkley said. “Because he’s the leader of the team. He’s the best player, he’s one of the best players in the world…As a leader of the team, he cannot have his head down. He’s got to say, ‘Guys, we’re fine. They did what they were supposed to do. We’re gonna go home and win Game 3 and 4.”
Following Barkley’s criticisms, Philly fans did point out that Embiid seems to have been suffering with some kind of eye problem.
The big man was wearing sunglasses during Monday’s pregame shootaround.
He was upset about the lack of calls going his team’s way in the frantic final 27 seconds of Game 2.
“But forget about the timeouts. There was a bunch of fouls. Like I said, that’s f**king unacceptable,” Embiid said of the refereeing.
Another TNT crew member and fellow Hall-of-Famer like Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, was critical of Embiid’s teammate Maxey for his role in the dying seconds of the game.
Kyle Lowry was inbounding the ball and thew it to Maxey, who was being heavily guarded, so he couldn’t keep a hold of the ball.
This ultimately led to a game-winner from Knicks guard Donte DiVincenzo.
“When you get the ball on the side, you can’t be flailing and flopping around looking for the bell,” Shaq said. “Did he get fouled? Maybe. But still, you got to get it and hold it.”