“5..4..3..2..1.. As the BUZZER sounds off & Oh no, can it be??”. Yes, the Sixers have dropped another game to the Toronto Raptors... Sadly I want to say that I saw this coming, the way that the Sixers had been playing after they went up gave me the feeling that they believed this series was already over with and that’s the worst thing a team can ever do is count their opponent out before the “series” in this case is over. However, as I mentioned before James Harden has been in an ongoing slump although,w\ the Sixers' role players have continuously been finding ways to keep them afloat, that is until now... Harden’s shooting slump is a big factor in the Sixers' last two losses but in the first two or three games Harden’s assists had been completely out of this world and "role" players in Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey were each in the high teens or even cracking the twenties a couple of times, Maxey even scored 38 in the playoff opener.
Moreover, since game 3 the Sixers' numbers haven’t been close to what they were in the first couple of games. In addition, for me to be brutally honest even Embiid numbers have dipped and that’s this year’s league scoring leader, that just goes to show you how much trouble Toronto is causing or that the Sixers believed that this series was history and as Game 6 approaches I fear that the Raptors have just enough life left in them to have a legit shot at the first ever 3-1 comeback in history. To carry on, that’s a testament to the Raptors and their head coach Nick Nurse, as they have found some way to slow down Embiid and make the role players beat them. Even Though that is a brilliant scheme by Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse, I do not believe the Raptors are going to make history by pulling off the first-ever 3-0 playoff comeback in NBA history, but the fact that they still have a chance after this round has surpassed five games is very scary.
On another note, after scrolling down my social media feed I happened to come across a “Bleacher Report” Instagram post that discussed the current status of how Embiid was feeling after their second straight loss and he said, “He just needs to be aggressive, he needs to be himself… That’s probably on our coach to talk to him… That’s not my job”.(Embiid, 2022). That quote that I just stated goes to show you how basically Embiid personally feels about Harden’s performances, shockingly after going back to the post I noticed that they actually had the live postgame interview after game 5 with Embiid starring in it. I overheard Embiid say inside his interview that he believes Harden should be shooting more shots especially since the way the Raptors are guarding him specifically now & that makes complete sense.
I personally, don’t believe that Doc Rivers needs to say anything to James as he is a grown man and a professional Super-Star level athlete, which means that he knows what is expected of him and what he needs to do to finally get this playoff series done and over with. All in all, I still have complete faith in the James that I once knew and I am kind of glad this series is shaking down to the final games like this as I believe he plays his best when the odds are against him! With that being said, I will speak with you guys again soon on the topic of this NBA playoff series hopefully with better news!
