Darryl Morey isn’t the only one coming to the defense of the Philadelphia 76ers’ biggest stars.
In a remark that since has been roundly criticized, Los Angeles Clippers head coach Ty Lue called out Joel Embiid and James Harden by saying they wouldn’t be top-10 scorers if they weren’t racking up so many points off free throws.
Lue claims his comments were taken out of context, but he and Morey got into a war of words over the remarks – which had come before the Sixers handed Lue’s team a 122-97 drubbing. Either way, the easiest counterargument is that if you’re constantly getting to the free throw line, you must be doing something right.
Danny Green then carved out time on his podcast “Inside the Green Room with Danny Green” on Thursday to dispute what Lue said, as well.
“I think they’re special talents and would still be top-10 in scoring even if they didn’t get to the free throw line as much,” Green said. “James, they’re blatantly not (calling fouls) for him this year. We’ve seen so many times when he’s going to the paint with three or four guys on his body or hitting him in the face or grabbing his arms, and (the refs are) just looking at him. So that’s part of the game now, and Ty Lue’s comments I don’t think are correct when it comes to James this year because he’s not getting the same amount of free throws as he normally gets as he has in past years.
"But that’s common sense, though," Green continued. "You can say if this or if that about a lot of things. If so and so didn’t shoot threes, he wouldn’t be that good either. Come on. If if were a fifth, we’d all be drunk."
In fairness to Lue, listening to his full comments suggests he wasn't trying to outwardly criticize either player. Still the framing was not great, and you can see why 76ers players took issue with it when they clearly were made aware of it before or during the game.
Harden certainly is not absolved of any blame in this. His propensity to flop had often been criticized, and refs were told to make a concerted effort to no longer call fouls that guys clearly are angling for by making unnatural shooting motions – something Harden did often.
Related
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram