What is currently the NBA’s most tested right thumb wasn’t quite done when the final buzzer sounded on Saturday afternoon.
After the Sixers lost Game 4 to the Raptors at Scotiabank Arena, Joel Embiid gave the officiating side a sarcastic applause.
Playing through a thumb injury that was officially ruled a sprain, Embiid scored 21 points in 7-for-16 shooting and recorded eight rebounds, three assists and five turnovers. He didn’t display the “I’ll take what they give me” mentality demonstrated in a turnoverless performance in Game 1, nor the game-changing greatness he showed on Wednesday as he led the Sixers to a rousing comeback win and led to a 3-0 advantage in the series.
He obviously didn’t like the name of the game. Embiid had nine fouls, 2.8 below his league-leading average during the regular season. Six of his attempts got past the 4:06 final, and none of them ever seemed to affect the result.
“I’ll take my own advice and not complain about fouls,” Embiid told reporters in Toronto after the game. “But like I did at the end of the game (the officials) did a great job. I admire the work they did today. To me it felt like they had a job here tonight and they got it done. So congratulations to them.”
Embiid indicated he will be more energetic in Game 5.
“…I think next game, if they don’t call it, I’m going to be even more aggressive offensively and defensively,” he told reporters. “If they[the Raptors]want to give fouls or call non-fouls, they have to really deserve it and be really physical.”
The Raptors don’t look or sound like a team that will willingly accept anything Embiid throws their way.
Pascal Siakam says he loves to compete and he’s cool with all the back and forth but doesn’t want dirty pieces (when asked about the piece where Embiid walked past him on the floor). Says “at the end of the day it’s all fake toughness anyway.”
— Oren Weisfeld (@OrenWeisfeld) April 23, 2022
Both sides in this series have singled out officials after defeats, which of course weren’t just down to unwarranted whistles. In the dying seconds of the Sixers’ Game 2 win, Embiid said he “respectfully” told Toronto head coach Nick Nurse to “stop bitching about the office.”
On Saturday, the Raptors scored 22 of the game’s 25 points from turnovers and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds. They let the Sixers play from behind for most of the afternoon, and Pascal Siakam then scored 15 of his playoff career-best 34 points in the fourth quarter.
Injuries became a central storyline of the series when Embiid accidentally stepped on Scottie Barnes’ foot in Game 1. Barnes, who was named Saturday’s Rookie of the Year, returned from his left ankle sprain to free Toronto 26 minutes from the bench. Fred VanVleet left the team in the second quarter with a left hip strain and did not return. VanVleet came into the series with a right knee injury that hampered him in the second half of the season and he was well below his best. Before leaving Game 4, VanVleet was off the floor 7 for his last 34.
As for Embiid, the 28-year-old MVP finalist told reporters he will have an MRI on his thumb on Sunday. Since suffering the Game 3 injury, he has not indicated that he expects to miss any playoff games as a result.
Joel Embiid says he believes he will be able to make the playoffs and if the MRI confirms he needs thumb surgery, he will do so after the playoffs.
— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) April 23, 2022
The Sixers will try to knock out the Raptors again Monday night in Philadelphia. When the game is over, they would probably prefer to discuss advancing to the second round, disputed incumbency and damaged thumbs.