Brian Scalabrine certainly fired away with some thoughts on the 76ers. I never pretend to know what’s going on in locker rooms. If I were to be one of those people, I would say that Scalabrine might* have a point. I’ve seen Joel Embiid really look sluggish getting up and down the court. Ben Simmons has stopped trying to work on his 3-point shot. It might even be fair to say that he chose Kendall Jenner over working on his jump shot. Does Scal have a point?
Here’s a snippet from the “Scal and Pals” podcast:
“My problem is, because my experience is having to do everything to the greatest intent, because if I didn’t I wouldn’t have made it, right? I don’t know what it’s like to go play a game and not give a f—. I don’t. I just don’t. I don’t understand.
But Ben Simmons? He doesn’t care. Sometimes he makes moves, he goes to the basket, he’s laying it up, turning a corner, dunking off the wrong hand, going off the wrong foot, doing all these things. But sometimes, he’s out there not impacting winning whatsoever. Embiid, it’s the same thing, when they pick and choose when they wanna be great. But I don’t know why they pick and choose certain times, and other times they don’t. I don’t get it.
You lose to Atlanta, then why not just bring it — it’s a nationally televised game, and you guys just lay an egg, and it doesn’t look like you care at all. So, I’m with you — I’ll never quit on the Sixers. But I don’t understand the internal drive and motivation from both those guys.”
That’s a take for you. Listen, I won’t say he’s right or wrong. What I will say is I’ve been there. There were a lot of days that I hated wrestling. Probably more days like that than not. It’s not easy to stay motivated. Especially for someone like Simmons or Embiid who is so gifted they don’t have to bring it all the time and can still be successful.
This is a make or break year for Philly. If they get knocked out of the first round, changes need to be made. Brett Brown may be the first to go. Who knows if they will consider breaking up the Simmons and Embiid duo.
