It appears Joel Embiid took another subtle shot at Ben Simmons' reluctancy to shoot the ball from the outside.
"We just got to look at ourselves and see what we can do individually, we've got to help each other even if it means being outside of your comfort zone for the great (good) to help the team win," Embiid told reporters via Kyle Neubeck.
"Meaning that, if you've got to space and shoot it, you've got to do it. We need everybody to buy into that and we'll be fine. We're going to be fine. We're still finding our groove, we haven't been totally healthy, the whole starting lineup. Like I said, we'll be fine."
The Sixers have lost three in a row after beating the Bucks on Christmas, frustrating the fan base and dropping their record to 23-13, just sixth in the East, 8.0 games back of Milwaukee. Simmons is just 2-5 from three this season and is barley shooting the ball at all outside of ten feet from the rim. His free-throw percentage hasn't improve either, as Simmons is just 58.8-percent free-throw shooting after hitting the 60.0-percent mark last season.
Defensively, Simmons has improved, leading the NBA with 2.2 steals per game. He's also averaging 14.5 points, 8.5 assists (4th), and 7.1 rebounds.
My take: Look, I don't want to make this a bigger deal than it is. It definitely seems like Embiid is targeting Simmons here, but it's not the end of the world. These things happen when teams are struggling and the Sixers are in the middle of a little slump. The Sixers have a tough three-game stretch of road games and it doesn't get any easier tomorrow night at Houston. They'll be fine, ultimately, in my opinion.
