What’s Worse: Joel Embiid’s Flopping or the 76ers Geo-Blocking Ticket Sales?

Two storylines collided on The Rich Eisen Show. Joel Embiid's flopping, and the Philadelphia 76ers' decision to geo-block ticket sales for Game 3 of their second-round series with the New York Knicks. Rich and the cast could not decide which one bothered them more.

The flopping debate started with Boston's exit. The Celtics led 3-1, then watched the appendix-less, ligament-light Embiid show back up as the version of himself that wins MVP awards. Tyrese Maxey took off. Young B.J. Edgecombe shut down Derrick White after halftime in Game 7. Kelly Oubre had it going. The Celtics, meanwhile, kept launching threes, and Jayson Tatum's series ended with what turned out to be a knee injury, not the calf-Achilles concern.

Then came Jaylen Brown's postgame comments.

"He was flopping around. He got some extra calls and stuff like that, and they rewarded him for that," Brown said. "That's the league that we're in."

Brown doubled down on Twitch the next day. He argued that everybody pulls the same move, accused the officials of carrying an agenda against him in retaliation for his regular season criticism of the refs, and pointed out an NBA-cut promo airing on ESPN of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoving off with his off arm.

The show split. Chris pushed back hard.

"This is a very difficult time to say these things, don't you think, Chris?" Rich asked. "Do you think that's the reason why the Celtics are home right now?"

No. Chris went deeper. The Celtics overachieved massively. Joe Mazzulla deserves coach of the year consideration. Brown was first-team All-NBA caliber. Tatum playing 40 minutes a game in the playoffs on a body that had only logged 20-something games this season was not sustainable. The Celtics were not built to win a playoff series, period.

Rich took the win for Knicks fans. Two large Knicks bodies, in Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns, are now headed straight at Embiid with the league suddenly paying attention to flops.

Then the Sixers handed everyone something even more reprehensible to talk about.

Embiid, in a postgame press conference, made a direct appeal to Sixers fans not to sell their tickets to Knicks fans for the upcoming home games. He referenced the previous Knicks series, when New York fans took over the building. He even offered to compensate any Sixers fan who might need the money.

"Don't sell tickets. This is bigger than you. We need you guys," Embiid said. "You need money, I got you."

The Sixers organization went one step further. Sales for Game 3 were restricted to residents of the greater Philadelphia area, with orders from outside the area canceled without notice and refunds issued. The sales policy is determined by credit card billing address.

Rich went off.

"I find this to be absolutely absurd," he said. "What if you're somebody who's a diehard Sixer fan living outside the greater Philadelphia area? You're bringing your kid. It's a Friday night, Mother's Day weekend. How can this be even enforced?"

The better policy, Rich argued, is the simplest one. Trust your fans. If your home court advantage is real, it is impenetrable. If it is not, it is not. Pulling the welcome mat at the door is the move of an organization that does not trust its own building.

Rich pointed at his own backyard. The Los Angeles Rams won an NFC Championship game on the road at SoFi Stadium the year they won the Super Bowl. That was a road game in their own building. That happens. That is sports.

The room turned the absurdity into bits about credit card workarounds, P.O. boxes on Nick Nurse Drive, and addresses on 12 MB Flop Lane. Mike asked a basketball question worth keeping. Why is Embiid spending so much time at the three-point line when his mid-range jumper from the foul line extension is, as Rich put it, money?

The answer, Rich said, is the analytics. Three is more than two.

"If you live by it, you got a duck parade," Rich said. "And if you die by it, you're dead, bro. You're finished."

The Celtics just learned that lesson. The Sixers, despite the talent and the comeback, are now picking a fight with the very fans they need.