Andre Drummond Says Joel Embiid Can Talk When He Plays Whole Season Without Rest

The war of words between Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid and Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond continued Saturday in advance of their clash at Wells Fargo Center.

Speaking to reporters, Drummond said he'll entertain Embiid's trash talk when The Process proves capable of staying healthy over the course of an entire season.

"I mean you can't really have a conversation with a man who can't play a back-to-back," he said, per Fox Sports Detroit's Johnny Kane. "I've been playing for six years and I've missed maybe 4-5 games. So when he can play a whole season without taking a rest, he can come talk to me."

To Drummond's point, he's only missed three games since the start of the 2013-14 season.

Embiid, meanwhile, missed the first two years of his career with a foot injury before he was limited to 31 appearances during his inaugural campaign. He's subsequently been subject to load management restrictions, which have prevented him from suiting up in back-to-backs.

However, limited availability hasn't stopped Embiid from chirping.

After the Sixers center dropped 30 points and nine boards in a 97-86 win over the Pistons on Oct. 23, he didn't hesitate to put Drummond in the crosshairs.

"Defensively, he doesn't play any defense," Embiid said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey. "When we started the game, he was being aggressive and he was talking, too. ... So what I was like [in my mind] 'You want to do that? I'm going to kick your [butt] then. So that's what I did."

Embiid continued to throw shade Saturday when he took a shot at Drummond's offensive deficiencies, per NBC Sports Philadelphia's Marshall Harris:

Trash talk aside, both Embiid and Drummond are in the midst of stellar campaigns.

Entering Saturday, the Pistons' frontcourt anchor is averaging 14.3 points, a league-leading 15.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks. He's also shooting a career-high 63.9 percent from the free-throw line after making 38.6 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe a year ago.

Then there's Embiid, who has registered 22.9 points, 11.3 boards, 3.3 assists and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field.