CAMDEN, N.J. — The Philadelphia 76ers are in a tough position as their first-round series with the New York Knicks shifts to the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers are down 2-0, and they have never rallied from that deficit to win a playoff series.
Yet, the Sixers remain confident. Joel Embiid guaranteed Philadelphia would win this series after the heartbreaking Game 2 loss, and the Sixers follow his lead.
Coach Nick Nurse has been in this position before. His Toronto Raptors trailed the Milwaukee Bucks 2-0 in the 2019 Eastern Conference finals before the Raptors rallied to win the series and go on to win a title.
“I did briefly mention it,” Nurse said of sharing that run with this Sixers group. “Like I’ve been here before. Let’s go.”
However, Nurse’s approach to Game 3 doesn’t change compared to the past.
“I hate to be really boring here, but not unlike any other game,” Nurse said of his approach to Game 3. “Even regular season — you take what’s there in front of you. The only thing that’s different is you’re playing the same team. You’re taking right there what’s in front of you. You’re looking at adjustments. You’re making your best guestimates on what you think they may go to.”
For the Sixers to get on the board on Thursday, Nurse and his staff are looking at ways to combat the Knicks. Philadelphia did a great job in Game 2 of putting itself in the right positions to succeed, but didn’t get the job done. Now, Nurse is looking to overcome any potential adjustments in Game 3.
“A couple things that kinda start working for them and they say ‘Hey man, we can maybe exploit this a little more’ and you say ‘OK, in case that happens, let’s get ready for it’,” Nurse continued. “We gotta do the same. We’re looking at where the pieces go and how they fit and what can we change around it. Can we continue to get good looks and stuff like that?”
The Sixers may be down 2-0, but this is a very talented bunch. Embiid and Tyrese Maxey have made it look rather easy on the offensive end. If Philadelphia can get a scoring boost from Tobias Harris, Kelly Oubre Jr. and Buddy Hield, then Philadelphia probably has a win or two under its belt.
“You show them the film,” Nurse finished. “You walk through the stuff. You walk through a couple things that have been problems. You walk through a couple of their adjustments. Things we didn’t see before the series started and get ready to go. The only difference is you got a lot more time and it’s the same team.”
Philadelphia has had two days to prepare for Game 3. On the flip side, so have the Knicks. Now is the time for the Sixers to get on the board in this series and bring the fight to New York.
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