Things had to change for the Philadelphia 76ers after they suffered a blowout 106-89 loss to the Miami Heat on Monday. Moreover, the team knew it, too, and they held a team meeting to help them get back on track and diagnose the problem plaguing their season. Additionally, Tyrese Maxey calling out star Joel Embiid during the meeting surprised everyone, including ESPN analyst Richard Jefferson.
“I have never seen a player as great as this, as a Joel Embiid, have to be called out by some of the youngest players in his camp,” RJ said on NBA Countdown, per ClutchPoints on X, formerly Twitter.
Fallout from 76ers team meeting
Richard Jefferson did say that team meetings happened all the time, and that younger players like Tyrese Maxey calling out the older veteran players like Joel Embiid was “sad,” calling the situation “the children parenting the adults.”
True enough, younger stars calling out older stars has happened before.
Famously, one of the reasons for the Kobe-Shaq beef in the early 2000s was Kobe’s dissatisfaction with Shaq’s work ethic, pointing out the big man coming into training camp out of shape then playing himself into shape during the season.
However, the difference between Kobe-Shaq and Maxey-Embiid was that the Lakers’ dynamic duo had feuded during their monumental three-peat.
Meanwhile, Joel Embiid hasn’t reached a Conference Finals a single time in his career, not for lack of trying, though.
Another difference is that Maxey’s comments about Embiid’s tardiness came out of their close friendship, per reports. Likewise, they reportedly have a history of holding each other accountable.
“Tyrese loves Big Fella, but this is the elephant in the room,” one 76ers source told NBA insider Shams Charania, per his report for ESPN.
Likewise, Maxey pointed out how Embiid’s tardiness affected everyone on the team, from the players to the coaching staff, which may have had something to do with on-court chemistry issues.
On the other hand, Embiid accepted the comments, but also mentioned how sometimes he didn’t know what the team was doing on the court, seemingly laying the blame on coach Nick Nurse’s feet.
Reasons to hope?
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Still, if there was a silver lining to all this drama for 76ers fans, it’s that the Big Three of Maxey, Embiid, and Paul George has yet to play a game together.
Maxey hasn’t played since November 7 because of a right hamstring strain, while Embiid has just recently returned after missing the start of the season.
Meanwhile, Paul George has played in six of their last 13 games, but his play has shown some major regression, perhaps partly because of his left knee bone bruise.
Still, the 76ers’ 2-11 start in a weaker Eastern Conference might not seem like a death sentence at this point of the season.
Fans hope this team meeting should wake the team up and force them to manufacture wins while waiting for their stars to share the court, finally.
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