Joel “Soul Crusher” Embiid and the Sixers Give Philly a Night to Rejoice

In what bordered disaster early, the Sixers rebounded in the most momentous way possible. An overtime win punctuated by a Joel Embiid wing three with less than a second remaining to take a 3-0 series lead. Finally, the Sixers were on the other side of a blown double lead in the playoffs.

A few of the main takeaways from a night to remember for Sixers fans:

 

Sometimes everything goes wrong, and it doesn’t matter because you have Joel Embiid:

We are now beating a dead horse with the MVP campaign but it seems to be a forgone conclusion that it will not be Joel Embiid. It took less than a week to see what we already knew, that is a colossal mistake. Early in the game, Embiid seemed mopey and despondent. “Fuck Embiid” chants rained down on him while the Raptors sent double and triple teams at him constantly. He had 5 points at halftime, and finished with 33. It was the utter dominance we have become accustomed to, but this time when it mattered most. Late in the game, he hit a turn around fade-away jumper. He got switched onto Gary Trent Jr. and played lock down defense. And also splashed a game-winning wing three. And while there are just a handful of people alive who can do all of those things, Embiid also happens to be the most dominant post presence in the game as well.

This feels like a career defining moment for Joel. His game-winner came on the same basket that sent him home crying in 2019. It is one of the most notable heartbreaks in recent basketball memory. He has mentioned often that it changed him as a person and a player, and that was capitalized tonight:

 

 

Who are you and what have you done with Tobias Harris?

Tobias Harris only scored 11 points tonight, so if you just looked at the box scorer (like an MVP voter, HA get it?!) you would not understand his impact on the game. This is the most locked in Tobias Harris has ever been on defense in his entire career. He had to log serious minutes tonight without Matisse Thybulle and with others in foul trouble. Even so, he has tackled his Pascal Siakam assignment head on and basically made him a non-factor late in this one. His stretch of four straight points and multiple defensive stops strung together kept this team in the game in the 4th quarter while James Harden dealt with foul trouble.

In the first two games, his efficient scoring that helped chipped in 20+ points were huge for this team. But tonight, it was his defensive effort and intensity that helped deliver his team a win.

 

James Harden steadies the Bad News Bears

Remember the first time you played in front of a student section in high school? And you made that realization that it wasn’t just your family in the stands anymore wishing you the best. There were actual people in the stands now outspokenly rooting for you to fail. Yeah, that’s how the Sixers played in the first half to the tune of 15 turnovers. James Harden was the only one who didn’t look shellshocked. He and Danny Green felt the wrath of Nick Nurse complaining about fouls for a week. But Harden’s command of the floor has been very evident in the series and was much needed on the road in Toronto.

Say something nice about Doc Rivers, we finally can

I have always been a huge fan of Nick Nurse and was very worried we were on the cusp of being outclassed coaching wise this series. Instead, Doc Rivers has pushed all the right buttons while Nurse does nothing but complain about foul discrepancies.

The substitution  rotations have worked for the most part this series for the Sixers even with the Thybulle wrinkle tonight. Plus, Paul Reed is now getting the back up Center minutes. I am still somewhat convinced a month of Deandre Jordan being Embiid’s back up was some sick and twisted social experiment like the Stanford Prison Experiment. At least Rivers made the common sense move at the right time.

It seemed like Rivers was spelling Harden and Maxey earlier in quarters so they are on the floor when Embiid hits the bench to start the 2nd and 4th quarters, pairing a ball handler with Tobias Harris.

Rivers also went zone this game which slowed the Raptors down when things were getting out of control. He started calling sets for Embiid to get the ball at the elbow instead of in the post because the Raptors kept sending chaotic double teams. It resulted in 28 second half points for Embiid. Lastly, Rivers sprinted down the court like DeVonta Smith on a fly route to call a crucial timeout with a second left on the shot clock late in overtime. It set up the incredible Joel Embiid game winner.

We don’t give Doc Rivers credit often, but he needs a ton of it this series.

By Aidan Powers | April 21, 2022
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