Apr 15, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) warms up before game two of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets at Wells Fargo Center. Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Some Brooklyn Nets players are unhappy with the laughing apology given by Philadelphia center Joel Embiid over the elbow he delivered in Game 2, calling it “disrespectful.”
Embiid was whistled for a Flagrant 1 foul after a vicious elbow that caught the jaw of Brooklyn’s Jarrett Allen during the 76ers’ victory. Embiid apologized for the elbow during the postgame press conference but broke into laughter with teammate Ben Simmons doing it.
“We didn’t really like that,” Nets guard Caris LeVert said Wednesday. “We thought that was kind of disrespectful, especially after the elbow he threw. There’s no love lost. It’s a playoff series. We expect that.”
Embiid said Simmons laughed because “I’m not usually humble,” an explanation accepted by the Nets’ Jared Dudley as Embiid being a “silly guy.” However, Dudley didn’t full excuse it.
“I felt a certain type of way for it just because you’re laughing and someone could have really gotten hurt,” Dudley said. “That’s been Embiid’s personality, but just because it’s your personality doesn’t mean it’s right. So, for us, you can either get even however you want to do it, but the biggest thing for us to get even is winning Game 3.”
Game 3 is Thursday night in Brooklyn with the series tied 1-1.
—Field Level Media