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TORONTO – Joel Embiid left the field in tears following the 92 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Game 7 of the 92-90 vs 76 at the 76a in Philadelphia.
He had played 45 minutes, more than anything he had ever expected in the regulations, and had deployed all his wings to counter the mighty blow of Kawhi Leonard, the first of his kind to win the seventh match of the day. history of the NBA.
"To lose the game that way," said Embiid when asked his emotion. "Last shot.After a very hot match, I have the impression that we had the opportunity.A lot of things are going through your mind, and that sucks in. I do not know. I can not explain it, it just sucks. "
Before going to the locker room, Embiid shared a hug with the Raptors center, Marc Gasol, who offered a few words of encouragement between the generous sobs from the center, 25, who became the face of the franchise Sixers.
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"He was telling me … tried to let me know that I would be there at that time and even further in my career," said Embiid, praising the course presented by Gasol .
Of course, the future success of Embiid will be tied to many of the decisions that the Sixers will have to make starting this summer.
Three of Philadelphia's five starters – Jimmy Butler, Tobias Harris and JJ Redick – are headed for free will. Sixers coach Brett Brown is expected to meet the expectations of Sixers co-owner Josh Harris in March.
"We want to at least make sure that the playoffs are deeper than last year," Harris told the MIT / Sloan Analytics conference in March, adding that it would be "unfortunate" if this n & # 39; Was not the case.
Technically, the Sixers advanced further – reaching the seventh game of the second round, rather than the fifth, as they did in the defeat against the Boston Celtics in 2018 – but the Harris statement obviously raises the question to know what changes might occur because its purpose has not been achieved.
"I think the band, as I said at the beginning before playing, is getting closer," Brown said. "I think our starting group is as talented as any NBA player … I think in the future, you try to keep as much as you can." And this n & # 39; Is not my domain. [General manager] Elton [Brand] It will be great, and I'm sure a big part of the challenge and planning will be how to move the bench and keep as many arrivals as possible. "
Brown was questioned directly about his job security.
"Things like that, we have discussed a lot internally," Brown said. "The club can answer that."
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After the fall of Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid shows his emotion and is consoled by the Canadian Marc Gasol.
Philadelphia, one of the top five teams in the world, has played only 21 regular-season games and the combined series. At that time, the 76ers found themselves at a distance of one place in the Eastern Conference finals.
"We have not been together for a while with this group," said Ben Simmons. "There is a lot of potential.The guys we have, everyone we have now, we have grown a lot over the past few months to be together.I am proud of my guys."
When asked what the Sixers had learned from the Raptors, Simmons did not mince his words. "It's simple," he says. "You just have to get better."
Butler, like Brown, was asked about his future.
"I'm not worried about anything of that yet," Butler said when creating the independent agency at the post-game press conference. "I just lost, I do not want to talk about anything other than basketball.
Embiid, who was forced to play through left knee tendonitis, a gastroenteritis and upper respiratory infection during the series known as "The Process" which was introduced by the Former General Manager Sam Hinkie.
Embiid embodied the turnaround, even adopting "The Process" as the nickname itself.
Speaking to the media after the match, with great uncertainty in front of him and years of bad basketball behind him, he was asked where "The Process" was and how exhausted he felt after playing all 2, 48 seconds, 48 seconds. played Sunday.
"I do not care about" The Process ", he said," No, I'm not tired. "
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