Joel Embiid referred to Team USA's upcoming semifinal against Serbia, revealed the reason why he missed the Balkan side's game vs. Australia and explained why he enjoyed facing Brazil.
Joel Embiid had 14 points and 7 rebounds in Team USA's comfortable win over Brazil (122-87) that vaulted them into the Olympic tournament's semis.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
23
|
| Anthony Davis | |
| Points | 13 |
| Accuracy | 5-9 |
| Rebounds | 8 |
| Assists | 3 |
Next up for the US squad is Thursday's game against Serbia, where Embiid and the other big men of Team USA will square off with Nikola Jokic.
And even though the American side prevailed over last year's World Cup finalists in a pre-Olympic scrimmage and the tournament's opener, Embiid thinks the upcoming clash will be different.
"I mean, it's going to get harder and harder," Embiid said after the game. "So we can't take it lightly because we beat them by a lot in the first two games. It will be a different mindset, it's win or go home."
"So we'll make sure we are locked in, follow the game plan, and execute it."
The 2023 NBA MVP said he didn't watch Serbia beat Australia in overtime, as he had other plans.
"I was taking my nap," he admitted. "I think I went to sleep in the second quarter. So I couldn't get to watch the ending."
However, Embiid said he's sure Jokic "had to make plays for them to win."
Since the Sixers big man missed the finale in Serbia's game, one could assume that he might have watched Canada lose to France. But Embiid didn't want to speak about that game at all, even though the team that was considered one of the main threats to the United States had been eliminated.
"I'm not going to say anything about Canada," he replied. "I'm focusing on what we need to accomplish. We got Serbia, and that's where we're focusing on."
On the other hand, playing in Paris, in front of a hostile audience that's booing him every time he touches the ball, can be a fun experience for a player whose choice of national team raised a lot of controversy.
"It feels good, just playing well with the team and everything coming together," he commented. "It's good to have fun too. Because at the end of the day, you have to take something out of this experience. That's one of them. If the fans want to go on me, I'm going to tell them too," Embiid said.
Facing Brazil was also something the Cameroonian center enjoyed.
"They have a couple of young guys. I got love for Brazil. My wife is Brazilian. So, I had the whole side of the family go against me," he joked.
"That was fun. But they have a great team," he noted, before praising Bruno Caboclo, although he didn't mention his name. The former NBA big man led all scorers with 30 points.
"Obviously, the big guy is pretty good, and they have a bunch of young guys," Embiid repeated. "So they're only going to get better."
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