Knicks fans' 'f**k Embiid' chants force Philadelphia 76ers to make shrewd move ahead of Game 6 in Wells Fargo Center

The Philadelphia 76ers want to prevent New York Knicks fans from invading the Wells Fargo Center for Game 6. After all, hosting a notable number of visiting team fans can rob a team of the coveted home-court advantage, particularly when they shower the home team's star player with boos and curses.

This exact scenario transpired during Game 4, as Knicks fans seemingly outnumbered the home crowd. They filled the arena with boos and curses, especially targeting MVP Joel Embiid. This perhaps contributed to the Sixers losing that game 97-92.

During one instance, rival fans resorted to crude 'f**k Embiid' chants:

As per Jared Greenberg on NBA on TNT, the team's front office came up with an interesting tactic to prevent the situation from happening again.

"It caused Joel Embiid afterward to call it 'unfortunate,'" Greenberg said. "He was not happy and Sixers ownership took note. In the last couple of days, they went to the secondary market, scooped up 2500 tickets then distributed those tickets locally to first responders, healthcare workers and other local organizations."

Greenberg also shared that these tickets cannot be resold as they include a "one-time transfer." Additionally, the Sixers front office reached out to their season ticket holders and encouraged them to support their home team.

It is important to note that the Sixers front office is not a direct ticket seller. Fans can access tickets through various third-party websites. This is what allowed Knicks fans to invade Wells Fargo Center last time.

Aside from guaranteeing that the opposing fans won't outnumber the home crowd, this also serves as a way for the team to give back to the community.

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76ers star Joel Embiid has struggled to shoot amidst the heckling from Knicks fans

The Philadelphia 76ers are trailing in the series 3-2, partly because Joel Embiid has not been an efficient scorer.

The Knicks started the series with home-court advantage as the higher-seeded team. In Game 1, Embiid went on an 8-for-22 shooting clip from the field and 2-for-8 from downtown, resulting in a 36.4% shooting percentage. He still ended up with 29 points but that is mostly due to the 11 free throws he made.

In Game 2, he fared slightly better, scoring 34 points. However, only 12 of his 29 attempts were successful. The only game in the series where he surpassed a 50% shooting rate was Game 3, the team's first game in front of the 76ers home crowd, where he went 13-for-19 (68.4%) and dropped 50 for the win.

However, in Game 4, when Knicks fans invaded the 76ers' arena, Embiid went down to 36.4% shooting, making only 7-for-19 attempts (27 points).

Game 5 was a polarizing game for the athlete. He managed to grab a triple-double with 19 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists but he once again struggled with shooting, going 7-for-19, and committing nine turnovers. The team probably would have been eliminated if it wasn't for the heroics of Tyrese Maxey, who made two clutch plays to force overtime.

While this could be interpreted as the Knicks fans getting into Embiid's head, it is also important to note that he is just returning from an injury that sidelined him from the beginning of February to the end of March.