Say It Louder Becasue I Don't Think He Heard You

     Joel Embiid has been criticized all his life. He was made fun of in high school at Montverde. Questions and doubts over his health came about quickly after he was drafted. NBA fans call him a fraud, a player who fades in the playoffs. When times are tough and the spotlight is on him, he vanishes."He can't stay healthy." "He can't make shots.""He tries to draw too many fouls." They say he stole Jokic's MVP. Or they'll call him a villainous, hypocritical, foul-baiting bully. French citizens hate him for abandoning their national basketball team. On the other hand, American citizens hate him for joining their team. Well more specifically, they hated  him. 

Embiid had the last laugh

                            Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports

    The nice part about the Team USA basketball in the Olympics, is that there aren't lasting rivalries. Everyone understands that they're all working for that same gold medal, and any former NBA beef can take a pause until the season. No matter what NBA team you're on, you're on team USA, and that's most important. That being said, sometimes the Olympics really test your fanhood, because you find yourself cheering for the enemy. I appreciate Jayson Tatum, but as a Sixer fan, I really don't want to support him...ever. However, having some of the most elite NBA players on a squad makes you proud to be an American, and you can't help but love and this team. And whoo-boy did team USA need some support yesterday. 

    Serbia gashed USA's defense in the first half, with shocking shooting from three. Through the first three quarters, Serbia hit 14 of 29 shots behind the arc. Team USA just wasn't prepared for it. Serbia had a 17 point lead at one point, knocking down three after three. Stephen Curry had a great game of his own. Desperately trying to rally his team, Curry had an answer for each Serbian bucket. Curry nailed nine treys, four coming from the first quarter alone. However he couldn't beat Serbia on his own. The dangerous combination of Nikola Jokić and Bogdan Bogdanović was killing team USA. Jokić's presence drew defenders away from the perimeter, giving him the opportunity to kick back out in case of a double. Also, Serbia's pick and roll game was creating easy space for guards to shoot threes. Curry was dancing around the arc, creating his own space with creative step-backs and pump fakes, but he needed a backup. USA went into the third quarter down by 11 points.

    But it isn't that easy to make a comeback, and momentum shifted quite a bit in the third quarter. In a back and forth period, team USA was able to chip away at Serbia's lead, making it only 67-61 at one point, but they couldn't hold on. Serbia turned on the jets and ran away with a 9-2 run heading into the fourth. The score was now 76-63. 

    But that was when the real fun happened. The fourth quarter might have been the best 10 minutes of US basketball in Olympic history. It took a little while, but then USA started cooking. The turning point was when Kevin Durant buried a three pointer to bring the score to 70. However, Jokić had shoved Anthony Davis causing Davis to fall and trip Durant who was coming back down. This gave USA the ball back, and they capitalized. Devin Booker caught the inbound pass and buried the triple to make the score 78-73. The score went back and forth until Joel Embiid went off. He got seven straight points from a couple of quick jumpers and an and-1. With the score now at 82-84, LeBron James made a layup and then the score was tied. A Serbian dunk gave them a two point lead, but then Curry heaved a shot from behind the arc. The ball rattled back and forth before falling through the net. With the lead for the first time since the first quarter, the US never looked back. A clutch Durant jumper and two Curry free throws sealed the deal, and the US walked away with a 95-91 masterpiece.

Embiid proved his doubters wrong

                            Photo Credit: NBC Sports Philadelphia 

     Embiid didn't win the game on his own, however. Curry finished with 36 points, making nine of his 14 three point attempts. He also grabbed eight rebounds. James had a triple double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. Embiid scored 19, going 8-11 from the field. He also got four boards and a block. Durant added nine points off the bench. Curry and Embiid both had their days. Both were having a rough Olympic run, and there wasn't much faith in them from USA fans. However both had a "silence-the-haters" game and it was so fun to watch. Many fans had been calling for Anthony Davis and Bam Adebayo to take over Embiid's starting spot. However, both of them had rough days offensively, and Embiid is just to well rounded to overlook. Davis scored only four points, Adebayo, zero. Embiid played solid defense on the Joker as well, as Jokić went 7-17 from the field, 0-6 from three.

    You can talk all you want about Embiid being flaky, dirty, weak, and a negative influence. But you cannot deny that he saved USA basketball yesterday. He also seems to be finding his groove, as he put up 14 points and seven rebounds in the US's demolition of Brazil. He also got 15 points and two blocks in a win over Puerto Rico, the game before. That's a major improvement since he didn't even play versus South Sudan, and he only had four points against Serbia in group play. He does tend to be inconsistent, but there is a good chance that his abysmal performance in group play was just him adjusting to Olympic basketball. 

    Regardless, Embiid deserves and has earned every bit of respect from NBA fans, and NBA competition heading into this 2024 season.  

The first photo was taken from a Yahoo Sports article. Photo taken by Rich Schultz/Getty Images. Image used for commentary.

The second image was taken from an NBC Sports Philadelphia video. Image found on a google search. Image used for commentary.