The Philadelphia 76ers' young stars have powered them into the Eastern Conference semifinals. Yet in Game 1 of that series last night, they got a great lesson in just of how loud a playoff crowd can be.
The Celtics took down the 76ers, 117-101, to take a 1-0 series lead. In the course of that victory, the Sixers' young duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were the target of fans' jeers, which was to be expected. Yet to hear those two talk about it after the loss, they hardly heard anything from the Boston crowd and were not impressed by Boston's fans.
Jessica Camerato of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com has more from Embiid and Simmons on the atmosphere in Game 1:
“It was OK,” Joel Embiid said of the atmosphere during the Celtics’ Game 1 win over the Sixers Monday. “I think our fans are louder than that.”
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When it came time for a chant, though, the Celtics crowd united together to send a message loud and clear.
“Not-a-roo-kie!” they cried when Ben Simmons shot free throws, a jab at Simmons’ Rookie of Year campaign. Conversely, when Jayson Tatum shot free throws, they chanted, “He’s-a-roo-kie!” to make a point.
Simmons heard it. Then he let it go in one ear and out the other.
“I don’t care,” Simmons said. “It doesn’t affect me at all.”
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“It didn’t bother me,” Embiid said. “But they were great. They supported their team tonight. It was good. I love that type of atmosphere because it kind of elevates my game knowing that there’s a lot of fans out there that are talking trash and saying some crazy stuff, too.”
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“I love when people talk trash," he said. "Keep bringing it on and we’re going to see how it goes.”