Joel Embiid pulls off another masterful flop to get Andre Drummond ejected
- Joel Embiid flopped hard in the final minute of the 76ers game against the Pistons on Tuesday night to get Andre Drummond ejected.
- While the 76ers would go on to lose, after the game, Embiid would argue that he was inside Drummond's head.
- Drummond would go on to get the last laugh with a post of his own.
- The two teams meet again in Philadelphia is just two weeks.
Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid wants to master every aspect of basketball, and on Tuesday he demonstrated once again that his game goes beyond being a dominant defensive presence and reliable scorer.
Late in the fourth quarter of the 76ers game against the Detroit Pistons, Embiid flopped hard after barely being touched by Andre Drummond, drawing a second technical thanks largely to his acting abilities.
If Embiid's flop wasn't obvious enough on its own, his quick bounce to his feet to celebrate Drummond's ejection was a pretty clear giveaway.
At the time, the call was monumental - the Sixers and Pistons were tied in the final minute of regulation, but after J.J. Redick missed the technical free throw, the game went to overtime, where the Pistons would win 133-132 behind a heroic, career-high 50-point effort from Blake Griffin.
Despite the loss, Embiid was clearly pleased with his effort to troll Drummond and said as much to reporters after the game.
"I think I own a lot of real estate in his head," Embiid said. "We lost, so I'm not supposed to talk trash, but he knows damn well that he can't guard me."
Whether you think it's proper gamesmanship or in poor taste, listening to Embiid speak about it you must admit that his flop was strategically executed.
"At one point, I think [referee] Tyler [Ford] said that the next cheap shot, the next one is going to get a technical foul, and that's why he got the other technical foul," Embiid said. "All I was doing was just talking and playing basketball and trying to win the game."
Still, it was the Pistons who got the win, and Drummond who got the last laugh.
With the win, the Pistons are off to a 3-0 start to the season under new head coach Dwane Casey.
They travel to Philadelphia to meet the 76ers again next Saturday in a rematch that's sure to be heated.