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Charles Barkley shared a strong opinion regarding Joel Embiid’s kick to Nic Claxton’s leg early in Thursday's Game 3 showdown between the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets.
Embiid received a Flagrant 1 foul for kicking Claxton, who had stepped over Embiid after an alley-oop (video here). The decision to give Embiid just a Flagrant 1 foul rather than a Flagrant 2 -- which would have triggered an ejection -- led to some debate.
During halftime, Barkley made his thoughts clear.
Speaking on TNT's halftime show, Barkley said that Embiid should have been ejected for the kick and asserted that the MVP candidate's dirty deed was worse than Draymond Green’s infamous stomp from earlier in the postseason.
Charles Barkley on Joel Embiid’s kick:
“I think his was worse than Draymond's, to be honest with you.”
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) April 21, 2023
“I thought he should have been ejected. I thought that was a Flagrant 2. I think his was worse than Draymond’s … I thought he tried to kick [Claxton] in his private parts,” Barkley said.
Fellow commentator Shaquille O’Neal agreed with Barkley.
The lack of an ejection looked particularly bad when compared with what led to a James Harden ejected in the third quarter. But there was a difference between what Embiid did and what Green did. Green did not just step on Domantas Sabonis in response to having his leg grabbed -- he stomped and intentionally used Sabonis’ chest to push off.
Embiid’s action was in response to taunting and his reaction was inappropriate, just as Claxton’s intial step-over taunt was inappropriate. But Green put something extra on it relative to Embiid.
More must-reads:
- Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Jokic finalists for NBA MVP
- Doc Rivers makes cryptic reference to foul stat during press conference
- The 'Every NBA MVP runner-up in the lottery era' quiz
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