The defeat and Joel Embiid's 50 points are obviously difficult to swallow for the Knicks. But at the press conference, they mainly mentioned Joel Embiid's fault on Mitchell Robinson. A mistake with serious consequences for the rest of the match, and perhaps the rest of the series. Recall of facts.
The Sixers pivot is on the ground, and as Mitchell Robinson gains momentum, the Cameroonian catches his legs! The Knicks pivot falls on Joel Embiid, and twists his ankle in the process. For the referees, it is an anti-play gesture, and they whistle a Flagrante 1 to Joel Embiid. Mitchell Robinson limped to his feet, and finally threw in the towel a few minutes later. He even left the room with a boot to protect his foot, and his participation in Game 4 is very uncertain.
A fault that deserved expulsion?
“It was a dirty move” believes Donte DiVincenzo. For Isaiah Hartenstein,“it wasn’t a basketball move.” But on the referees' side, we explain why Joel Embiid was not sent off with a Flagrante 2.
“In this case, the staff was unanimous with the manager of the slow-motion video center on the fact that this fault was unnecessary, without reaching the level of a Flagrante 2” explains Zach Zarba, the main referee of the match. “Unnecessary contact justifies a Flagrante 1 but we were unanimous on the fact that this did not reach the level of excessive contact which would have been synonymous with an expulsion with a flagrant 2. This is why we remained on a Flagrante 1.”
Josh Hart finds it “a big playoff mistake”
For his part, Joel Embiid defends himself from any bad intention regarding the fault in question, and assures that he just wanted to protect himself. “Mitchell Robinson jumped and tried to land. I tried to make sure he didn't land on me because we obviously have in mind that action where Kuminga landed on my knee.”he says. “I had a sort of flashback when he fell again. »
The final word for Josh Hart, especially relieved that his teammate was not seriously affected.
“ We're just happy that Mitch isn't seriously hurt.”he whispers. “I'm all for big mistakes, big playoff mistakes, but it's something that can put a guy on the sidelines for a long time. So we're lucky he wasn't seriously injured. »
