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Miami, Florida.- Although the second game is still to be played, Philadelphia’s idea of being able to steal any of the games without Joel Embiid received a serious blow this Monday in Miami.
Spoelstra’s men looked far superior and dominated the Sixers every time they pressed the accelerator, to end up making it 1-0 with a final score of 106-92, made up in the last minutes.
The big question was to see how Philadelphia was going to counter Embiid’s loss and although Rivers tried different options, none looked anywhere near able to work.
DeAndre Jordan, starter, was clearly the worst alternative (-22 in 17 minutes and only 2 rebounds), but there were no answers in the rest either.
Paul Reed would be the logical replacement, but he can’t play more than 15 or 20 minutes because of his constant infractions; Paul Millsap was equal to or worse than Jordan, while the small-ball with Tobias Harris and Georges Niang as interiors is also not sustainable.
Charles Bassey (at first it seems to be the most drinkable option) is the other alternative that Rivers has at hand but he only resorted to it in the garbage minutes. Other than that, it’s clear the Sixers have repeated mistakes of the past and reached the postseason without a single reliable relief for their best man. Difficult to understand, also considering Embiid’s injury history.
Miami would have to do things very badly not to easily dominate the 76ers while Embiid is out. This Monday he played a correct game, he had an unstoppable Bam Adebayo (24 points, 12 rebounds, 8-10 from the field) and comfortably prevailed in the points in the paint and second chance. He didn’t even need a good Jimmy Butler (5-for-16 from the field).
And if anyone believed that James Harden was going to raise his game in the face of Embiid’s loss, this first game reminded them that that Harden superstar is no more. Only 16 points and 5 assists for La Barba, tied down and physically outmatched by the great Miami defense. The 6-for-34 3-point shooting didn’t help the 76ers either.
The game’s leading scorer was Tobias Harris with 27 points, while Tyler Herro led Miami with 25 and 7 assists.
Information: NBA.
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