Joel Embiid Reacts To 76ers Game 7 vs Celtics | May 14, 2023

Joe, earlier Doc said that he thinks that this loss, the way that you guys lost here, diminishes what you guys accomplished this season. Do you agree with that? Yeah, I mean, you could say that. I mean, losing by however many points we did lose by, that's not us. Doesn't represent us. But I thought, you know, obviously they played well. And we just found the whole night to be cold, all of us. We just missed a lot of shots, a lot of wide open ones of all game long. So yeah, I think a lot of guys on this team that fought the whole year. And I appreciate them for that. And we all fought. I thought, for the most part, we played hard. And we all cared about winning. But tonight, obviously, against what I think, that's the best team in the league. They're so talented. And they got a lot of guys that can play great basketball. And like I say, losing to them, seven games, I thought, for the most part, we played hard. And we just came up short. You guys talked a lot about toughness and playing hard all the time, this time last year against Miami when you lost in six. Did you see that through the playoffs? And did you see that sort of toughness and resilience tonight in particular? Yeah, for sure. I think, God, man, like I said, we just didn't make shots. All of us, for the most part, we were pretty cold. And in these type of games, you got to make shots that did. And we didn't. But yeah, tough. I don't know. It is tough. Joel, you and Al Horford have had your battles. How did he make it difficult on you in the series? And just how do you look back on that battle with him, going back and forth throughout for seven games? He was pretty good. I thought, as a team, obviously, he did a fantastic job. Great player. He's a big part of everything they do. And he was great. I just thought, as a team, that they did a fantastic job. The adjustment they made, obviously, it's hard to drive in the paint. Rob is sitting there all the time. So it makes every shot tougher. And defensively, that took away our brother and brother, which is the picking role between me and James. We didn't get a lot of those shots that we usually get. Like I said, I made a great adjustment. And that forced us to really, for James, to really attack and make plays out of that. And either finish over Rob or kick it out to the corner and force the other guys to make shots. So I thought, for the most part, they did a good job as a team. Every time I had the ball, they were all pulling over to make sure there was no driving space for me to drive. So yeah, I thought that was credit to them. Like I said, that's the best team in the league. And they're pretty good. Joe, over here. You've been now part of a couple tough Game 7 losses. How do you process things tonight, tomorrow? Just what's the immediate aftermath of a game like this like for you? I think it's hard. It's tough losing, especially this way. But I think tonight will be the wrong night to just overreact. It'll just take a couple of days. I've already started figuring out how I need to get better for next year, what was missing this year, at this stage of the year. And I got a pretty good view of what I need to do to be better, to be a better basketball player, to prepare myself to keep improving every single year, which I've done. So for me, I just look at it as a good step. Like someone said, it was not a failure, steps to success. But yeah, it's tough. But you can't be sad about it all you want. But you always got to find ways to be better and keep improving. And that's what I'm going to do. Joe, what's the next step for you with James as a tandem going forward? And how much are you going to be in his ear this summer to have him come back here? We got an unfinished job. We haven't won anything. And I think we 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 got the chance to win. We got what it takes to win. So obviously, I don't know what's going on. And I know he has a player option that can extend him. But that's on those guys to figure it out. I'm going to stay out of it. But I still believe that me and him, we got the chance to win. But it's going to take more than us. We all got to look at ourselves. I got to be better, and I will be better. That's what I'm focused on. All of us, we got to 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 just try to keep finding ways to get better. And we'll be fine. Tobias in the locker room brought up mental toughness again when the Celtics are going on their run. And PJ talked about mental and physical toughness. Do you think that that's the missing ingredient? What do you think will it take to get over the hump? I thought for the most part, we're pretty good mentally. Tonight, like I said, I don't want to sit here and overreact. That's not just what I'm going to do. Thought tonight, they would present us. I just think we just didn't make shots. That's what it came down to. Four quarter last game. And tonight, you can't be as tough as you want mentally. And obviously, they're going on the run. But if you can't respond by making shots, that doesn't mean that you're weak mentally. It just means that maybe it's just not supposed to happen. And you just got to keep going and keep shooting. And we did keep shooting. And we just kept missing. And that's OK. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be. Joel, you said you've already started thinking about things that you can do to get better. What are some of those things? I mean, where do you think you need to be better in a game like today? Obviously, I miss shots. And that's on me. Could have been way better. And those things, you could say you can control it. But sometimes, the ball just doesn't bounce the way you want to. Sometimes, you're going to be cold. And you're not going to make the shots that you usually make. And I think for me, for myself, I think one of the things that I want to be better at is ball handling and just attacking off the dribble. Because I did that in the first quarter. And then I think that can also help our offense expand a little bit. Because there's a bunch of times this year where we were in a bunch of delayed actions with me attacking and kicking out. And we got a lot of good shots. I thought we need to add more ball movement into our offense. I thought for the most part, we were static tonight. No movement. For myself, like I said, I'm just trying to find a way to be a better basketball player, which I've done every single year. So I'm excited to go into the summer to see what I can add to my game and just come back a better player. As a guy who's had some pretty big nights yourself, what are you thinking out there when Tatum's doing what he's doing? Matt, it's not you. Are you respectful? What's kind of going through your head? I mean, he was fantastic tonight. I told him after the game. He was pretty inefficient the whole series. And he chose the great night to have that type of game and make shots. And that's what I told him after the game. But when you're part of that game and someone is as hard as he was and he keeps making shots, it's tough. But you can't give up. You've got to keep going, try to respond. And we didn't. We just kept missing. And they just kept making everything. So like I said, credit to them. They did a fantastic job. And like I said, I think they're the best team in the league. And they got a huge opportunity in front of them. They're deep. They got a lot of talent. And yeah, it's tough losing. But like I said, you just got to find ways to get better. There's been a lot of focus, obviously, on you guys getting the second round and not farther. You said before the season you weren't worried about that. You were worried about winning four rounds and winning a title. What was going through your mind the final few minutes of the game when you were sitting and watching? And what's going through your head now after falling short of doing that again? I was telling myself not to overreact. Yeah, just like I said, it doesn't matter where you lose. You don't get a trophy for being second or third or fourth or fifth or sixth. It doesn't matter if you're losing the first one. Finals, there's only one team that wins. And if you didn't accomplish that, are you going to be happy for being second? I know I'm not. So to me, if I don't finish first, it is a failure. So the rest doesn't really matter. So as I'm sitting there and I'm not trying to figure it out, it's just, you know, it's tough. But I don't think I would have been happy. I would have been happier going to the finals and losing in the finals. I don't think I would have been proud of myself. And one thing that I hang on is actually funny because it just happened. And as I was sitting there, Keith just walked up to me. He's African, and he just told me that I'm never going to lose my life because, obviously, this is bigger than basketball. It's bigger than basketball. As he's sitting here, I'm not going to say his story. But as he's sitting here and telling me a story about being African and what he had to go through to be in this position and looking up to me and telling me how much I've done for him based on where I'm at, that just helped me realize that, yeah, it's bigger than basketball. At the end of the day, our life, I care about winning, and I want to win so bad. And I know everybody around me that also know that. It's tough losing. It sucks losing, and I freaking hate losing. But then again, he just reminded me that I'm also, by just being in my position, I'm able to help other people, especially from where I'm from, to make them believe that they can also accomplish something bigger for themselves and bigger for their lives and their family. So yeah, like I said, it sucks losing, but there's way bigger, important things in life. I got my family. I'm going to spend some time with them. So yeah, like I said, I hate losing, but there's only so much more I can't worry about. You sat there last year and said you guys needed somebody like PJ Tucker, that you lacked toughness in terms of this thing you could tangibly see to take the next step. What do you see with this group? You said you think you have a championship ceiling with James, but what are the things that need to be added to this group for you guys to accomplish what you want to? Like I said, I'm not going to overreact. I got to be better, and I guess that's on me. If you want to call me the best player on the team, every failure and every losses, no matter what, I guess you'd be put on the best player. I take it all, and it's all on me. So it's hard to win alone, but it's all on me. I just got to be better, and I will be better. And every time I say it, I always find a way to get better, and I will get better. Joel, you talked about Tatum's success. A lot of that was with you defending him. They put you in a lot of pick and roll. Do you feel like you were moving well defensively tonight, or were you not moving so well? Or do you feel still feeling the impact of your injury? No excuses, but I don't know. I thought I was OK. Thought I was limited for the most part, not just tonight, but since I came back, which is OK, is normal. We were the half, and credit to them. They made plays, and they took advantage of what we gave them. And like I said, no excuses. They were just better than us tonight. Joel, on that note, Doc thought that maybe when you came down on Marcus, you might have tweaked an ankle or a knee, number one. And number two, what do you think about Doc's situation? I mean, you've seen what's happened around the league, coaches of the year, guys with rings getting banged. How's your relationship with Doc, and how do you want to see that come down as the offseason unfolds? I don't know. As far as for my knee, I just got to rehab and rest. And I think over time, it's going to be fine, and it's not going to need anything else, hopefully. My coach, I thought he's done a fantastic job. He came in. I think we've gotten better over the years. I thought he's done a great job, and I don't make the decisions. And I think he should be fine. We've got a great relationship. Yeah, I mean, you look at the way he handled the whole situation that we had a year or two ago. Thought he kept the team afloat, and he's been a great leader for all of us, great motivator. But then again, you look at what's been happening all over the league, it's tough. But then again, I'm glad I don't make those decisions. But I think all those guys that desire to have jobs, I know Coach Monson, he's a great job. He's a great coach, and I think he's done a fantastic job. You look at his team, I think he's gotten the best of all those guys. Coach Budd from Milwaukee, winning a championship, he did the best job he could. But at the end of the day, maybe GMs and owners, they have a different mindset. And sometimes change is good. Maybe that's what they believe. But as far as us, I'm just glad I don't make those decisions. And that's not my job, and that's out of my payroll. But Coach has been fantastic, and he's done a great job, in my opinion.