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Dwight Howard Says Playing Against Joel Embiid Makes Him Want To Choke Him

Joel Embiid possesses a variety of offensive and defensive abilities that make him a matchup nightmare for any opponent. Since flopping and soft contacts are still bought out by the referees, Embiid also has the tendency to use this situation to his advantage with his referee-baiting reactions.

This is why Dwight Howard, who has a reputation for his defense, doesn’t relish the matchup with the Philadelphia All-Star. In an Instagram live, Howard said he’s tempted to choke Embiid just because the seven-foot big man flops so much.

https://twitter.com/ScoopB/status/1284282486575583232?s=20

The NBA has had a problem with flopping in recent years. To address this issue, the NBA has started to hand out fines for flopping since 2012. But even though a threat of fine exists, a handful of NBA players still continue to flop and get away with it from time to time. 

Joel Embiid was averaging 23.4 points, 11.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game on 47.4% shooting from the field just before the season was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Philadelphia 76ers haven’t seen much of the expected success this season, but they’re still coming to the NBA bubble as one of the biggest threats in the Eastern Conference.

Dwight Howard meanwhile, was still stuffing the stat-sheet with 7.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game on 73.2% FG in only 19 minutes of playing time before the hiatus. Howard is back where it all started – Orlando, and has a chance to win his first ever NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers.