Wednesday night, after the Sixers’ overtime win against the Utah Jazz, Joel Embiid name dropped the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey when asked about matching up with opposing center Rudy Gobert.

The gist of the pseudo-friction seemed to stem from an assertion that Embiid was dodging Gobert and other elite centers, based on when he was available or not available to play.

Here’s the video clip in its entirety, to jog your memory:

Pompey responded in a story titled “No, Joel Embiid isn’t scared, but he’s missed his share of games against the NBA’s top centers.“

He writes:

I never said he was scared of competition. Embiid knows that. The fact is, five of the six games he missed were against elite centers.

….

…it’s undeniable that Embiid hasn’t played a lot against the league’s elite centers.

He missed head-to-head matchups against standout centers Andre Drummond (Cleveland Cavaliers), Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets), Jonas Valančiūnas (Memphis Grizzlies), and power forward Domantas Sabonis / Turner (Indiana Pacers) for what the team called back tightness or right knee pain.

Because of load management, Embiid is going to miss games. But I asked Rivers after the Feb. 15 game if there is concern about the games he has missed against elite centers.

“That’s a hell of a question,” Rivers said that day. “No. He’s just a late scratch. I mean, obviously, I thought there were no issues with Joel. I thought he’d play. And then they came to me and told me his back was still stiff.

“So I don’t think this is a long-term issue or anything like that. I think it’s just a game miss.”

According to sources, Embiid decides whether he’s able to play. On occasion, he has waited until just before game time to inform the team of his playing status. He was listed as questionable leading up to Monday’s win over the Pacers because of an ankle injury.

Okay, so Keith is citing sources here, saying Embiid has the final say on whether he plays or not. And only Embiid knows if he’s dodging any particular matchup on any given night. There’s no way to prove this one way or another, or say whether those specific games follow any kind of pattern.

All we know for sure is that there’s no battle Embiid can’t win, judging by the fact that he dropped 40 and 19 on Gobert last night. The whole thing seems a little goofy, but I wouldn’t outright discard the assertions of an experienced reporter who has broken stories in the past and generally been fair in the way he covers the team.

My two cents. Maybe you see it differently.