“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
That has to be one of the most powerful lines from one of the best superhero movies ever created in The Dark Knight (2008). And even though the movie came out about 12 years ago, the dialogue continues to resonate with most of us and certainly with the Philadelphia 76ers Center, Joel Embiid, who might just be livid with the way his team has been playing this season.
On Monday after picking a win against the Chicago Bulls, the 7-footer put up an Instagram post in which he used the line from the film as caption:
The 76ers were meant to be one of the best teams in the league and dominate the East but instead they are fifth in their conference and only two games ahead of the Indiana Pacers who are currently sitting in the sixth spot with a lot less talent, well at least on paper.
And while they are 24-2 at home, they own an abysmal record of 9-19 on the road and no matter what happens, they will not be getting home court advantage come playoff season. They are getting blown away by teams like the Miami Heat, the Toronto Raptors, and surprisingly the Pacers themselves.
Despite having one of the most talent-laden rosters in the league and some great potential in teammates like Ben Simmons, Al Horford and Tobias Harris, there is something off about the team and clearly nobody knows how to fix it.
Anyhow, while Embiid was receiving a lot of mixed reactions from the 76ers fans, there was one response that got a lot of attention - Jimmy Butler’s.
“I know a place where villains are welcome,” wrote the Heat Forward, arguably with the hopes of already starting the process of bringing him on-board as soon as possible.
Now, Butler has been teammates with Embiid last season and the way things have rolled out for each of them ever since Butler was moved to Miami clearly puts him in a better spot.
While with Butler, they looked like a championship-worthy team and even rallied a Kawhi Leonard led Raptors team to a seven-game Eastern Conference semifinals, they are nowhere near the same mark this year.
On the contrary, Butler’s move to South Beach has transformed an underwhelming Miami team into a juggernaut that owns the fourth spot in the East.
As someone who has been termed a bad guy in his former teams, Butler knows a thing or two about being around long enough to “become a villain” but instead of trying to change that image, he has embraced it with both arms.
Maybe, that’s what Embiid has to do as well, if he wants to be great?
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