At times, the basketball gods can get pretty brutal. If not, they can at least ensure that the karmic wheel keeps spinning, often stopping at the most poetic pegs to make people realize that sounding dumb rarely pays off and never makes sense.
Well, that was the script which the universe decided to write about the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. Not long after Jaylen Brown made the ludicrous claim that the 76ers were a better basketball team without Joel Embiid, the superstar big man decided to hand him a stout loss in Game 7, booting Brown's ball club out of the playoffs.
Brown and Embiid got into it numerous times in Game 7. On one occasion, Brown tried to guard Embiid with both players jawing at each other, but the latter was able to score with ease. On the following possession, the Celtics star seemingly wanted the former MVP to guard him one-on-one, although Embiid called his bluff and remained disciplined enough to let his natural defender cover him instead.
Joel Embiid pulls off a poetic reversal on Jaylen Brown and the Celtics
Embiid finished Game 7 with 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists to lead the 76ers despite being banged up. Boston simply had no answers for him, and with both Luka Garza and Neemias Queta in foul trouble, Joe Mazzulla ran out of options on defense. As such, it is poetic to see the Celtics struggle against the former MVP when Brown said before the series began that the 76ers have acclimated to life without Embiid and are ultimately better when he is not in uniform.
After the game, Brown doubled down on his disdain for the 76ers superstar. While admitting that the Celtics had no way of handling him on the defensive end, he later called Embiid out for alleged flopping. While the big man attempted 11 free throws, Brown seemingly forgot that he was baiting defenders into fouls all night long, looking to interlock arms with his opponents on multiple occasions.
Put simply, Brown –– and by extension, the Celtics –– simply talked way too much when they could not finish the 76ers off. Boston was previously 32-0 dating back to their inception when leading 3-1 in a playoff series. Now, Philly has put an indelible stain on their otherwise sterling track record.
And it's all because of Joel Embiid and the extra motivation he got from Jaylen Brown and the Boston faithful. Now, did it pay off for them? Obviously not.
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