All it took was one elbow to the face, an uncontrollable giggle fit, and an insincere “apology” to turn the 76ers into the biggest heels of the NBA playoffs.

Gone are the lovable losers of The Process. The heel turn is complete. The 76ers are now the villains of the NBA playoffs and it’s amazing.

The Nets cannot keep themselves from talking about Joel Embiid and Ben Simmon’s giggle fit when JoJo tried to apologize for almost caving in Jarrett Allen’s nasal cavity after game two. Embiid tried to play it off,  but the Nets took it to heart and have been losing their minds in the media leading up to game three. Always good to have a nice distraction right before a key moment in a playoff series.

As HHH always says, “it’s all about the game, and how you play it.”

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I’ve always felt like there’s no need to defend your reporting if you trust your sources and believe in your work. You don’t need to justify your process or go on sports radio or write follow-up pieces. All you have to say is, “my sources are sound, I stand by my work.”

That’s just my opinion.

Chris Sheridan took another approach, addressing the negative response to his New York Daily News article describing dysfunction and disagreement within the Sixers locker room and front office. His story, 76ers’ Brett Brown is heading for coaching purgatory, was widely panned and even skewered by Sixers Vice President of Communications Dave Sholler, who called it a “steaming pile of trash.”

Sheridan wrote a column for Heavy.com, titled “Why Sixers are Angry About Daily News Report on Ben Simmons” in which he compared Sholler’s response to that of a 4th grader and went on to blow a little bit of sunshine up his own butt.

Wrote Sheridan:

Sholler is the Vice President of Communications for Harris-Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, the conglomerate that runs the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Prudential Center and renowned esports franchise Team Dignitas, according to Sholler’s Linked In profile.

So the guy makes a lot of money, and it is his job to protect his bosses, put out fires and try to control the message.

Sholler’s inability to do so with dignity in response to the New York Daily News story concerning internal turmoil within the Philadelphia 76ers was a dead giveaway that the story was right on the money.

Yeah? Maybe. I don’t know. I wasn’t in the locker room or eavesdropping on Elton Brand.

I did point out yesterday that I’ve never once seen Dave Sholler respond to a story in this fashion, and there have been plenty of unflattering things written about the team in the past. He did not, for instance, criticize the ESPN story detailing the confrontation between Brett Brown and Jimmy Butler before the Portland road game, an incident proven to be true and later addressed in detail by both Brown and Butler. In this case, Brown and Ben Simmons basically swatted Sheridan’s story away.

More from him after the jump:

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Game three in Brooklyn tomorrow night.

The Nets had media availability today and said some things about the wicked elbow Joel Embiid struck Jarrett Allen with on Monday night, the Shaquille O’Neal spin move that resulted in Joel receiving a flagrant 1. After the game, Embiid and Ben Simmons started laughing after Joel offered up an apology:

"I got him pretty good and I'm sorry about it."

Joel Embiid cracks up after apologizing for his flagrant elbow to Jarrett Allen's face. pic.twitter.com/Hk1A3tH96B

— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 16, 2019

“I’m not usually humble, that’s why he’s laughing,” Embiid explains at the end of that clip.

You might recall that Rodions Kurucs was also given a flagrant-1 when he got Simmons with an elbow a few possessions later, a play where he was boxing out Ben on a rebound attempt.

That video, after the jump:

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Listen –

I don’t know if the Chris Sheridan story describing some dysfunctional behind-the-scenes Sixers stuff is true or not. I pointed out some factual inaccuracies in this morning’s write-up, but like the Joe Santoliquito Philly Voice story, I can’t tell you whether the guy’s sources are legit or not. You and I are not in the Sixers locker room or wiretapping Elton Brand’s phone, so how are we gonna prove or disprove this thing with actual hard evidence? You can’t.

For what it’s worth, the Sixers put less than zero stock in the New York Daily News article, which was brought up at today’s practice session.

Brett Brown said this about the column:

I am aware of it. I have not read it, and I won’t. I have nothing to say about it.

Short and to the point, huh?

Ben Simmons said this, after the jump:

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If you’re one of those people who felt like the Saturday booing of Ben Simmons and the Sixers was justified, you were proven right last night.

You fundamentally believe that booing is a way to send a message to players, to light a fire under their ass and motivate them to play at the level you know they’re capable of. Maybe it doesn’t even come from a position of douchebaggery, it comes from a position of, “listen man, we love you and we know you’re a hell of a player, so let’s see it.”

If that’s the premise, then Ben Simmons’ Monday night performance essentially proved that the Philadelphia blueprint for criticism is 100% sound.

Because the thought process goes something like this:

1. we know Ben Simmons and the Sixers can play better
2. therefore, we show our displeasure by booing
3. as a result, players with heart and desire will respond positively while players with thin skin and a lack of mental fortitude will respond negatively
4. Ben therefore proved that he is the former and not the latter

This all manifested itself in a 22-point win, a blowout victory in which the Sixers scored 51 third quarter points, tying an NBA record for most points scored in one period. Ben himself went for 18, plus 10 rebounds, and 12 assists as he became the living embodiment of the snort emoji he regularly posts on Twitter, looking more like an aggressive bulldog and less like a Bergamasco, or other more passive and calm dog breeds.

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I don’t know what it is about the Wendy’s Frosty Freeze Out, but people get PUMPED for this promotion.

In case you’re living under a rock, the Sixers run a thing where the crowd gets a free Frosty if the opponent misses two consecutive free throws in the second half.

Check out Kevin Harlan calling this sequence last night:

FREE ICECREAM IN PHILLY! 🍦😂 pic.twitter.com/c1N7og67XX

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 16, 2019

That’s a Frosty for everybody! Slurp it!

What a guy, Kevin Harlan.

These are the three stages of the Wendy’s Frosty Freeze Out:

• The first time the opposing player misses two consecutive free throws in the second half: Fans will receive a free Small Frosty.
• The second time the opposing player misses two consecutive free throws in the second half: Fans will receive a free Small Frosty and free Small Fry.
• The third time the opposing player misses two consecutive free throws in the second half: Fans will receive a free Medium Frosty and free Medium Fry.

There is no fourth stage, but if there was, I’d say the opponent who misses the free throws has to go work an eight-hour shift at the Wendy’s in South Philadelphia, near the Longhorn Steakhouse and the Ikea.