LeBron James Says Joel Embiid Has 'Harden-Like Magic' After Lakers Lose to 76ers
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James said the team must do a better job of defending without fouling on a player like Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, who went to the free-throw line 13 times in the Sixers' 107-106 victory over the Lakers on Wednesday night.
"Gave ourselves an opportunity to win at the end and it didn't go our way," James told reporters. "Loved our fight. We just gotta do a better job of keeping our hands out of the cookie jar, especially with a guy like Embiid, who has [James] Harden-like magic as far as the swipe move and things of that nature."
Embiid made 11 of his 13 attempts from the charity stripe en route to a team-high 28 points along with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 38 minutes.
It's the second time in as many weeks the three-time All-Star's ability to draw fouls has become part of the conversation. Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart said Embiid "flails and gets the call" after he shot 21 free throws in a victory over the C's last Wednesday.
The Sixers star, who's emerged as a serious MVP candidate in the early stages of the 2020-21 campaign, responded to those comments:
"Marcus Smart just told me that I flail a lot? Come on. I'm sure he knows himself, and he knows his game too. He does a lot of that. And I don't think I do. I mean, if you watch basketball and if you're a student of the game and if you actually pay attention during the game, we all see. Every single foul, I get fouled. They probably don't call all of them, like the last one. There was three minutes left, I went up, and that was a foul and they knew it, but they didn't call it. So there's a lot that they don't call, and there's a lot that they call because you have to.
"The game is physical. Other teams tend to try to be extra physical against me. And I guess I'm just smarter than everybody else. I just take advantage of it. I just take advantage of how they're guarding me. You can call that, I don't know, basketball IQ. Like if you're going to put your hand up there, I'm gonna take advantage of it and I'm gonna get to the free-throw line, because I know that I'm a great free-throw shooter and that's a better chance for me to help the team win in those situations."
Embiid is averaging a career-high 10.9 free-throw attempts through 15 games. His career average is 8.7. He's also making a career-best 83.4 percent of those shots.
His success as a whole has played a major role in Philadelphia surging to the top of the Eastern Conference with a 13-6 record. It's a positive trend after the 76ers finished sixth in the East last season before getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Boston Celtics.
Los Angeles is back in action Thursday night as it continues a seven-game road trip when it visits Little Caesars Arena to face off with the Detroit Pistons.
The Sixers return to the floor Friday when they travel to the Target Center to challenge the Minnesota Timberwolves.
