On Tuesday, the NBA announced that it has suspended Joel Embiid three games for reportedly shoving Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Marcus Hayes in a postgame confrontation. But according to Craig Carton, there’s just one problem with the Philadelphia 76ers center’s punishment: it’s exactly what he wants.
“If you really wanted to punish Joel Embiid, wouldn’t you make him play three games?” Carton asked on Wednesday’s episode of FS1’s Breakfast Ball.
Even on a debate show, Carton’s counterparts couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’d love to defend him,” Danny Parkins replied before failing to do so.
“Can you imagine? ‘You’ve gotta play three games,'” Mark Schlereth added. “‘I can’t play in these back-to-back three games, but I’ll play three games.'”
“To my point, this is all the video we have of Joel Embiid this year,” Carton continued, as b-roll played of the 2023 NBA MVP sidelined in street clothes. “So to the NBA and the Sixers, we all say [what the f***?!].”
“If you really wanted to punish Joel Embiid, wouldn’t you make play three games?” 😂@craigcartonlive on Embiid’s three-game suspension pic.twitter.com/gXpSW2EZXM
— Breakfast Ball (@BrkfstBallOnFS1) November 6, 2024
While Carton’s commentary was obviously tongue-in-cheek, there are also kernels of truth in it. After all this entire situation started with a column in which Hayes was critical of Embiid’s availability — or lack thereof — with the oft-injured center having missed the Sixers’ first six games of the season with a knee injury.
The problem was that the Philadelphia Inquirer columnist invoked Embiid’s son and late brother while doing so, which the 30-year-old center clearly took issue with. For his efforts, he’ll now miss three more games — even if to Carton’s point, that’s been the status quo for the seven-time All-Star this season.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.