The Philadelphia 76ers have had an issue all season of not being able to find a sharpshooter on the floor for them and they have worked around this issue all season. on Friday night, their lack of a shooter reared its ugly head again in a Game 3 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Philadelphia shot poorly in Game 3 at just 29.5% and they were only 9-for-39 from deep. That is what held them back in the game as they were not able to take advantage of a struggling Jayson Tatum.
“We’re just missing shots,” said Joel Embiid who had 30 points and 13 rebounds. “There were a couple of times in the post and kicking out, we just missed a bunch of shots. I could’ve made better decisions, but then again, we just didn’t make them. Next time, I’m sure they’re going to fall.”
Coach Brett Brown has been dealing with this issue all season long as he has been doing his best to groom a shooter, but it has been tough sledding for him. Shake Milton shot the best out of his group at 3-for-9 from deep, Josh Richardson shot 3-for-11 from beyond the arc, and Embiid shot 2-for-5.
However, the guys they were hoping to be the shooters struggled again. Tobias Harris was 0-for-5, Furkan Korkmaz was 0-for-3, and Alec Burks was 1-for-3.
“I feel that we’re relying on a young man carrying the basketball as a point guard on a pretty good team,” said Brown. “I think the pieces around it are capable shooters. I think that we are a better shooting team than what this statistic represents. It’s just hard for me to back it up after a night like this, but yes is the short answer. I do think we have players that can make shots.”
Unfortunately, up to this point, they have been struggling to knock down shots and they are relying too much on Embiid to score and carry the load. To that point, Embiid is the star so it makes sense, but at the same time, he does need help.
They will need those shooters to step up and provide some offense on Sunday as the team faces elimination. [lawrence-related id=37058,37055,37049]