Tim Hardaway's NSFW message to 76ers' Tyrese Maxey over Joel Embiid confrontation
Yesterday at 05:11 PM
Tim Hardaway Sr. joined The Mark Jackson Show to talk about his son, Don Nelson, Pat Riley, and more. Hardaway Sr. spoke on the situation unfolding with the Philadelphia 76ers involving the recent players-only meeting in which Tyrese Maxey confronted Joel Embiid. The NBA Hall of Famer had plenty to say on the topic, including sharing his interpretation of what Maxey’s issue with Embiid’s behavior was.
“Maxey said the right thing, ‘yo Embiid, you're taking this s**t for granted.’ Basically [Embiid’s] taking it for granted,” Hardaway said. “He's taking his team for granted. He's thinking he can do whatever the f**k he wants to do and another thing comes to places late. Always comes to places late, never on time. ‘That's a problem to me, I'm [Maxey] here on time, you're [Embiid] f***ing with my time now. I've got to wait for you, I might have something to do.'”
The five-time All-NBA point guard also dove into why someone as young as Maxey stepped up to address Embiid.
“That's where it starts, it starts there and then they have to have a leader,” said the 13-year NBA veteran. “I don't think Embiid is a leader and Paul George – he just got there, he doesn't know what's going on – he's trying to figure it out.”
Hardaway sided with Maxey on his decision to step up and said that he would have done the same thing.
“So yeah, if I was Maxey, they're looking at you like you've got to speak up – you were there in the playoffs every game, you played every game, you played when Embiid was out half the season with the knee injury,” the five-time NBA All-Star said. “So yeah, you've got to be the voice of the team, you've got to be the leader.”
The 76ers have a get-right opportunity Friday against the Nets
If the 76ers want to hit the “reset” button on their season, they will have to do it by winning and staying out of headlines. They have an opportunity to start on Friday night. It’s an Emirates NBA Cup night which raises the stakes for the matchup against the Brooklyn Nets. Few, if any, predicted the Nets would be the Atlantic Division team with the better record at this point. But the 76ers are 2-12 and first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez’s team sits at 6-9.
Embiid is questionable for the game but Philadelphia did get Maxey back Wednesday. If Embiid is available, it could swing the game the Sixers’ way. Nets’ center Nic Claxton is playing fewer minutes and recording lower point and rebound averages than in either of the last two seasons. His defensive-EPM thus far is -0.7 (61st percentile in the NBA). His defensive-EPM rating has not been below +0.7 since his rookie season. And it hasn’t been below +1.2 in either of the previous two years.
Regardless of Embiid’s status, the pressure once again falls on Maxey to lead the team. Paul George is out Friday night and someone will have to match Cam Thomas’ scoring production for the 76ers.
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