Joel Embiid shreds critics of his free throw totals: 'Just shows that you can't guard me 1-on-1'

For Joel Embiid, the reason he gets to the foul line so often is fairly simple: it's because no one can guard him 1-on-1.

Embiid's free throw totals have become a source of discourse about how useful of a scorer he is. It began with comments Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue made – which he says were taken out of context – that Embiid and James Harden wouldn't be top-10 scorers if they didn't shoot so many free throws.

Of course, that's an inherently flawed argument, one that Embiid pushed back on during an appearance on JJ Redick's "Old Man and the Three" podcast released Thursday.

"That don't make sense, that don't even make sense," Embiid said. "Like, if you took away your shooting, would you have been an NBA player (JJ)? So, that's what I'm saying, you made it because that's what you're good at. Why do I get to the free throw line so much? Because I get doubled and tripled every single play. That just shows that you can't guard me 1-on-1, and if you do I'm going to score or I'm getting to the free throw line. That's just the way it is. I'm physical, I'm going to attack you and I'm going to score, and if you don't foul me that's going to happen."

Ty Lue scolds Daryl Morey for ripping Clippers free-throw shooting: 'Last time he tweeted he cost the NBA a billion dollars'

Embiid then shared some interesting insight into how comments like the ones Lue made impact the way referees call his games and how he has to tweak accordingly.

"That game I think I went to the line 27 times, literally I was 23-for-27, so going into the next game I already know that I'm not getting to the free throw line," Embiid said. "I already know that the next game they're going to come in and they're not going to call anything. So my mindset is I know that so I'm going to be even more aggressive, I'm going to make you call a foul. So if I get touched and you don't want to call a foul, you better believe the next time I'm going to be even more physical. I'm going to put more power into whatever moves I'm doing and I'm going to make you call a foul."

Embiid has been in the thick of the MVP conversation all season, so whatever he's doing, it's working.

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