Knicks great Charles Oakley tired of 'crying' from 76ers' Joel Embiid
Knicks' Isaiah Hartenstein, left, defends Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid (21) during the first half of Game 5 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II
Charles Oakley had words for how the Knicks should respond to some of the fouls — flagrant and otherwise — committed by Joel Embiid in Newsday Saturday. Tuesday, he had some pointed criticism directed at Embiid.
Appearing on SiriusXM NBA Radio’s The Starting Lineup, Oakley was asked about Embiid’s performance in the series.
“Everybody say; he’s hurt,” Oakley said. “If you’re hurt, stay home and watch it on TV like everybody else is doing. I don't want to hear this, ‘I'm giving it my all.’ You’re a seven footer shooting threes. I mean, you stand out around the three-point line, what the guards gonna do? So I think that, you know, they cry too much. All these guys in the league cry too much. He’s too big to be crying. I'm sorry I said about two years ago, he could be the next Wilt Chamberlain. I don't know. He could be the next Dunkin Donut or somebody because he just cries. Yeah, you get 30 points, but you ain't winning.”
Oakley, who starred for the Knicks for 10 years during the last sustained period of excellence for the franchise, did have praise for Jalen Brunson.
“I'm telling you,” Oakley said, “Brunson is the best thing since Walt Frazier. … Brunson is playing without Julius [Randle] and what he’s doing, man, it is incredible. Keep doing it.”
Robinson returns
With Bojan Bogdanovic lost for the series and about to undergo surgery, the Knicks welcomed the return of Mitchell Robinson. Robinson returned from a sprained left ankle he injured in Game 3.
Robinson warmed up before Game 4, but was scratched by the medical staff. He was in a walking boot leaving the arena Sunday, but after working out before the game Tuesday he was cleared and got the OK to play. Robinson entered the game in the first quarter.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
