Joel Embiid blasts officiating over unfair Trae Young calls

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The Philadelphia 76ers might have won Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks, but Sixers center Joel Embiid is not happy with the way it was officiated.

According to Embiid, the foul calls appeared to be more in favor of the Hawks, specifically Trae Young–though the Sixers’ All-Star big man did not name him and just said “their point guard.”
“I just felt like it wasn’t called both ways, especially because of the minimal contact that they get on their point guard. When it comes to us, we don’t get the same thing. I just want it called both ways,” Embiid explained, via Derek Bodner of The Athletic.
“If we’re gonna call some, like nothing (contact) on their point guard, it should be the same way, they should call the same thing on me if I get touched.”
The Sixers leader also highlighted that he was hacked several times during the game, but he ended up getting only four free-throw attempts.
“I was hacked all night and I don’t think I got to the free throw line until the fourth quarter…I told them they had to call it both ways, we had a bunch of guys, whether it’s Ben or Tobias, who were in foul trouble…I just want it called both ways,” Embiid shared, per Kyle Neubeck of the Philly Voice.
For what it’s worth, though, the Sixers and Hawks ended up with almost the same number of free throws, with Philly ending up with 23 attempts compared to the Hawks’ 24.
Joel Embiid and Trae Young also made the same number of free throws with three each, though Young had more attempts with five. Still, there is reason to believe the Cameroonian center could have gotten more given the physicality of the game.
Not to mention that the Sixers-Hawks series has been pretty much chippy from the start, so a lot of foul calls were expected.
Then again, with a lot of fans criticizing the “soft” nature of the league today and the fact that a lot of players tend to do some things just to draw a foul, the referees are probably being more wary of such acts.
Embiid has a bigger fish to fry, though, as he needs to put his best foot forward come Sunday in the crucial Game 7 against the Hawks. Unfair calls or not, Joel simply has to show up and dominate.