Sixers’ keys to victory for the heated, pivotal Game 5

In the bright lights of the NBA playoffs, every moment needs to be capitalized. Every missed chance slowly inches teams closer and closer to a destiny that topples down the stairs of a fate that is unsatisfactory to the highest extent.

For the Philadelphia 76ers, that reality has never felt this real.

“My eyes tell me that we blew a golden opportunity,” Coach Doc Rivers said following Monday’s Game 4 loss, where the team blew an 18-point lead (The Inquirer).

Concerns certainly keep rising for the team, but with every loss comes a new opprotunity- for the Sixers, the opportunity has not waned away.

In Game 5, the Sixers have the chance to shine at home but have to realize that some things need to change. Despite Joel Embiid’s terrible game, the offense needs to continue to center around him. He is no doubt the best player in this series. When he dominates, he and the Sixers are virtually unbeatable. But if Game 4 is an accurate reflection of the ‘post-injury Embiid, the Sixers could very well lose at home.

The nightmare-ish Game 4 boils down to 3 specific failures. For one, Embiid took too many jump-shots- 12 to be exact, which is more than Trae Young. That is an obvious problem. Embiid shot just once inside the restricted arc all game and had 4 shots overall in the paint. Not ideal for arguably the best interior force in the league. While his injury may have hampered him, the Sixers lose their spacing, ability to stretch the floor, and ability to create open shots for their 3-point specialist when Embiid accepts those compliantly submissive jumpers.

Once Embiid returns to backing down opponents in the post, he will make more shots, draw more attention, create mismatches, but most importantly, make the Atlanta Hawks foul. When the Hawks foul, big men like Clint Capela and John Collins have to become more cautious with how they defend. In these cases, Joel can dominate the low post even more.

Extension from this key, the Sixers need to get their shooters more involved. While the main shooters (Shake Milton, Seth Curry, Furkan Korkmaz, Tobias Harris) did take 15 3-pointers collectively, these were often forced shots in contested situations (think of the last shot). The pick-and-roll was not what it needed to be. Open shots were not there from 3. There also times, particularly in the 4th quarter, where Doc Rivers kept Seth Curry on the bench instead of playing him in key, potentially game-changing possessions.

The stagnant 2nd half offense did not have anything going for it. Beating the Hawks at their specialty can be the ultimate reason for victory. What this requires is a much better game from Ben Simmons. It is easy to pinpoint the loss on Embiids, but Simmons mightly struggled in his own right. In the second half, Simmons only had 1 field-goal attempt, 1 rebound, and 2 assists. The playmaker cannot perform at that level. If your best passer fails to create or feed open looks, games will not be won.

Simmons’s offense has always been questionable, but Game 4 exposed his limits badly. A +/- of -15 and lack of offense prowess hurts this team. For a few key moments, Simmons’s offense potential shines bright. Typically on fastbreaks or isolation situations, Simmons drives hard to the basket and attacks the rim with explosive intensity. If those moments extend to the entire game, he can reignite the offense and potentially take it to a new height.

The third key is playing better defense on the perimeter. While Trae Young did not have the greatest night as a shooter, he thrived as a playmaker. There were too many open looks for Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins, Kevin Huerter, and Danilo Gallinari. It may have been an off-night, as that group collectively shot 33%, but once they get hot, the Sixers will struggle defensively. A repeat of Game 1 cannot happen. Bait shots into contests and force bad looks will be the forefront of the Sixers’ defensive strategy, along with stopping Young.

In his press conference, Tobias Harris said “It should have been a game that’s ours, but right now it’s in the past. We just move on and we get ready for the next one.”

He and the rest of the team look to win the most important game of their season tonight.