Joel Embiid Discusses Doc Rivers’ Critical Decision vs. Hawks

When Joel Embiid came out of Thursday's game against the Hawks in the third quarter, Atlanta took advantage. Did Doc Rivers make the right call?

It was clear from the start of Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks that the Philadelphia 76ers would have a tough outing.

As Philadelphia shot just 35 percent from the field and 12 percent from beyond the arc in the first quarter of action, they trailed by double-digits as early as the second quarter.

“We missed a lot of wide-open shots,” said Sixers coach Doc Rivers after the game. “We missed layups, probably seven layups, wide-open threes. That’s gonna happen — it is. But then the turnovers on top of that, and I thought with each miss, the frustration, and you could literally see it, started to lead to no passing. Then, it really leaked into the defensive end.”

The Sixers never had control of Thursday’s game, but they weren’t out of it either. It was a game full of ups and downs, and the downward spiral really happened when Rivers pulled Embiid off the floor after the big man collected his fourth foul in the third quarter while the Sixers trailed just three points with six minutes left to go before the fourth quarter.

By the time the third quarter concluded, a Hawks run put the Sixers down by 14 points before the game entered the final phase.

“In those situations, I feel like I really don’t have anything to lose,” Embiid told reporters after the game, according to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I should be on the floor. I think I’m smart enough to not foul, but I thought that’s probably when the game changed. They went on that run, and we could never get it back”

Rivers mentioned the decision to take Embiid out in that situation was a “really tough call.” He acknowledged that decision really hurt the Sixers’ chances of formulating a comeback late in the third quarter after a slow start to the game.

“I trust whatever my teammates and my coaches say,” Embiid added, per Mizell. “Tonight, it just happened to be, at the time, probably the wrong decision.”

An Embiid-less lineup hurt the Sixers in the third quarter, but the game did change when Rivers rolled with an all-bench unit that had Montrezl Harrell at the five in the fourth quarter. As Harrell offered the Sixers a much-needed offensive spark by scoring eight points in just three minutes, the Sixers got the game back within six points.

Rivers trotted out a few starters, including Embiid, back onto the floor in hopes they could snag a comeback victory, but Philadelphia came up short. Embiid split free throws with a little over one minute left, but two missed three-point attempts by Embiid and Paul Reed with roughly 30 seconds to go sealed Philadelphia’s fate on Thursday night.

In the end, the Sixers lost 104-95, collecting their seventh loss of the year. 

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.