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Daryl Morey Fires Back at Ty Lue's Harden and Embiid Comments

Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey defended James Harden and Joel Embiid

Joey Linn

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In an answer to a question on how to keep his team focused when trying to defend James Harden and Joel Embiid, LA Clippers head coach Ty Lue referenced a unique statistic about the two star players. "Embiid is #1 in the league in free throws and James [Harden] is #3. You take away their free throws and neither guy would be top-10 in scoring," Lue said. While coach Lue was not taking a shot at the two players, but rather explaining how difficult it is to keep them off the line, Philadelphia 76ers GM Daryl Morey came to the defense of his two stars:

Morey's Tweet, suggesting that the LA Clippers would rank last in the league in offense if their free throws were removed, seems to have missed Ty Lue's point. As many have incorrectly argued, of course Embiid and Harden would fall down the league's scoring list if only their free-throws were removed; however, that is not the statistic Ty Lue was referencing. While perhaps he could have clarified more, Lue was referencing the alternate scoring list where every player's free-throws are factored out, in which James Harden and Joel Embiid do not make the top-10 scoring list.

While people can argue the efficacy of such a stat, that is the point Ty Lue was making. It was not to take a shot at the two players, but rather to emphasize how important and how difficult it is to keep them off the line. Morey, missing both of these points, fired back in defense.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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