Source: Adam Glanzman / Getty
The Eastern Conference Finals are set, and much to the dismay of the city of Brotherly Love, the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t make the cut.
Even worse than MVP Joel Embiid finishing another season without making it to the conference finals is the 76ers getting blown out by the Boston Celtics in a Game 7 loss.
The man who put the nail in the coffin was Jayson Tatum, who slyly told Cassidy Hubbart after Game 6, “I’m one of the, humbly, one of the best basketball players in the world. Go through struggles. Go through slumps. It’s a long game.”
He proved it in Game 7, pouring in 51 points, while Embiid and James Harden combined for just 24 points.
However, after the game, he seemingly took some of the blame he and Harden faced and put it on his teammates when asked about Harden’s future with the franchise.
“We got an unfinished job. We haven’t won anything and I think we’ve got the chance to win. Obviously, going to seven games and having the chance to close it out at home, which we didn’t do, I still believe we’ve got the chance to win,” Embiid said. “I still believe that me and him, we’ve got the chance to win, but it’s going to take more than us. We all got to look at ourselves. I’ve got to be better, and I will be better. That’s what I’ll focus on. All of us, we gotta come back and find ways to just keep improving and help the team. You can’t win alone. I can’t win alone. Me and James, we just can’t win alone. That’s why basketball is played five-on-five so we just need everybody to keep finding ways to get better, and we’ll be fine.”
However, Embiid was just 5-18 from the field and missed all four three-pointers he took. But his teammates Tobias Harris scored 19 points, and Tyrese Maxey scored 17, outscoring Embiid.
Twitter’s trolling Embiid’s MVP award and the heartbreaking Game 7 loss. See the reactions below.
