Shaq blasts Joel Embiid's play against Giannis, Bucks

Tom Gatto

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Shaq blasts Joel Embiid's play against Giannis, Bucks image

Joel Embiid was the Big Charmin on Thursday, in Shaquille O'Neal's view.

Shaq spared no feelings with his halftime critique on TNT of Embiid's play against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the East-leading Bucks. He pointed out multiple examples of Embiid playing "soft, with a capital T-T-T-T-T-T."

For good measure, Shaq shifted into a bad foreign accent while blasting the Cameroon-born, Canada-raised Embiid, who was 1 for 10 from the floor in the first 24 minutes.

O'Neal also made an indirect reference to Embiid's recent criticism of the Sixers' offensive approach and his seeming disagreement with coach Brett Brown.

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"When you go 1 for 10, it ain't your coach's fault, it ain't your teammates' fault, it's your fault, period," O'Neal said.

Former Sixers great Charles Barkley followed O'Neal's lead and piled on, calling Philly "the Cleveland Browns of the NBA" for their inability to match the preseason hype that built up around them.

Embiid's night didn't get much better in the second half. He finished with 6-for-26 shooting from the floor and 19 points as Philadelphia lost for a fourth consecutive time, 112-101. The Sixers (31-21) are all but assured of making the playoffs in a top-heavy Eastern Conference, but they don't look like a team that can finally get past the second round of the postseason.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.