Embiid is the only one who can save the Sixers
If you think about it, the Sixers should not even be here. They don’t want to hear that, and they’ve done a fine job convincing themselves that it is not actually true, but the first two games of their Eastern Conference semifinals matchup with the Miami Heat have left little doubt about the reality of their predicament.
They do not have Joel Embiid, and they do not have a chance.
This is not a revelation, of course. Anybody who takes a few minutes to consider the meaning and significance of the phrase “Most Valuable Player” will see how absurd it was to think the Sixers could lose a finalist for the award and still win a secondround playoff series. This was true of Embiid even before he solidified his place among the NBA’s small handful of elites. Over the past four seasons, the Sixers are 38-41 in games he does not play. None of those games occurred in a playoff series against a higher-seeded team.
The irony goes without saying, but so does all of this, really. It’s the worst sort of irony, multiple levels deep. The first level is that the impact of Embiid’s absence during these first two games against the Heat has been so total that it might just solidify his case as the most impactful player in the NBA. That’s debatable, of course. Take Giannis Antetokounmpo away from the Bucks and would they really look any less defunct in their series against the Celtics? The same goes for the Nuggets and Nikola Jokic (although it is just as notable to note that neither are still playing). But none of that matters to the Sixers, maybe not even Embiid. This is because of the second layer of tragedy.
The Heat look beatable. Beatable, at least, by the Sixers in their natural form. Even in their current form, all it would have taken to avoid an 0-2 hole and maybe flip it on its head is nine or 10 shots that dropped in rather than rattling out. That sounds like a lot, until you consider the overwhelming scale of their misses.
In a 119-103 loss in Game 2 on Wednesday night, the Sixers shot 8-for-30 from three-point range
home court before the series shifts north. Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.
And now, the Heat will hope history holds — and the 76ers will hope it doesn’t.
Miami has taken a 2-0 lead in 18 previous series, including the first round this season against Atlanta, and won the matchup every time. The 76ers’ franchise has dropped the first two games of a matchup on 19 other occasions, never recovering to win the series.
The question going into Friday will revolve around whether Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid could be ready for Game 3. The league’s scoring champion and MVP finalist has, not surprisingly, been big-time missed by the 76ers.
“We don’t have a big man right now,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers lamented.
Adebayo surely isn’t complaining. He was 8 for 10 from the field and 8 for 8 from the line in Game 1; he followed that up with a 7-for-11 night from the floor on Wednesday.
It wasn’t just the absence of Embiid, though, that hurt Philadelphia. The 76ers were awful again from 3-point range, shooting 8 for 30.
Danny Green was 1 for 10 from the field — the second time in his playoff career that he had that many attempts and shot that poorly in a postseason game. The other? A 1-for12 effort for San Antonio in 2013, also in Miami, the night the Heat won their third and most recent NBA title.
The Heat aren’t close to that yet. But they are two wins from the East finals.
Tip-ins
76ers: Harden got fouled on a 3-point try with 0.1 seconds left in the half, making all three free throws to get Philadelphia within 60-52 at the break . ... Maxey got a cut on his right knee in the fourth quarter, the game stopping temporarily while the 76ers tended to him. He stayed in the game. ... Georges Niang had another unusual stat line. He was 0 for 7 — all 3-pointers — in Game 1, then fouled out in 10 minutes of Game 2. It was the fourth-fewest minutes played all season by anyone who fouled out.
Heat: PJ Tucker turns 37 on Thursday . ... It was the 497th consecutive sellout announced by the Heat, tying Sacramento for the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. The record is held by Dallas, which has 864 consecutive sellouts and counting . ... Miami held a 44-34 rebounding edge.
Passing Pat
With the win, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra’s postseason record improved to 91-59 (.607). Among coaches with at least 100 playoff games, he moved into fourth on the NBA’s win-percentage list behind only Steve Kerr (.732), Phil Jackson (.688) and Billy Cunningham (.629). The coach Spoelstra passed in winning percentage Wednesday night? That would be his boss, Heat President Pat Riley, who went 171-111 (.606).
Kentucky south
The Kentucky ties ran deep Wednesday night. Wildcats coach John Calipari was at Game 2 to see Herro formally receive the Sixth Man award. Other former Kentucky players on the Heat and 76ers: Adebayo, Maxey and Heat two-way player Mychal Mulder. And Riley played at Kentucky.
Up next
Game 3 is Friday in Philadelphia.