Joel Embiid asks his teammates to “show up”

Currently, the 76ers are in a bloody battle against the Celtics in a playoff series in which Boston has taken a 2-1 lead.

Joel Embiid has taken a step forward and made a war call to his teammates to give their all on the court since he knows that defeating the Celtics will not be easy and that the whole team must be on the same page.

“I think players have to show up,” said Embiid. “I got to do my job. All the guys, everybody knows their role, they have to do their job. Players have to show up. Obviously, you can make any adjustments you want. But if the players don’t execute, they don’t show up and we don’t make shots, that’s on us.

“I got to be better. We all got to be better. We just haven’t been good enough the last two games. No sense of urgency … it’s the small things. We’ve been fine guarding them in the half court. It’s loose ball situations, offensive rebounds, and they knock down a 3 or they score off of it and it just changes everything.”

Embiid also addressed a few words to his teammate James Harden, who has struggled in the last two, after having an outstanding performance in the first game of the series, where he contributed 45 points.

“I mean, you just talk to him and you keep telling him to keep shooting,” Embiid said after Game 3. “Be aggressive. Can’t get too high, can’t get too low.

“Some nights you’re going to make lots of other shots, a lot of tough ones, and some nights you’re not going to make them. So it’s about finding other ways to impact the game.”

Embiid was named the MPV of the season, but the player wants to win championships, and that’s the most important thing for him right now. “Obviously, winning a championship is going to be way better,” Embiid told ESPN. “And we have that opportunity.”