BOSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers are in an interesting spot as their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Boston Celtics shifts to the Wells Fargo Center for Game 3 on Friday.
They gained the 1-1 split in Boston, which is huge. But they have to reintegrate Joel Embiid to the lineup after his return from injury.
Embiid returned in Wednesday’s Game 2 loss to the Celtics, and the Sixers looked out of rhythm. The big fella last played on April 20 against the Brooklyn Nets. Since then, the Sixers had a full week of practice and played two games without him.
That means they were used to playing a certain style of basketball, and they have to switch back to their original style now that the MVP has returned.
“It’s only been two games without him,” Tobias Harris said. “It’s not like we’ve played half a season without him. It’s just us finding ways to get him the ball in spots to be dominant out there — for him as well. Just getting a rhythm, getting comfortable out there on the floor to make his plays and play his game how he does.”
Everything the Sixers do is run through Embiid. There’s a reason he won the MVP award this season. He is a dominant scorer. He can make plays with his passing, and he can serve as a quarterback from his spot at the elbows.
The Sixers have to get back to work and remember how they played with him on the floor.
“Easy,” James Harden said on the matter. “Watch film and get better. See what they did, see what they tried to do defensively, and then how to counter. They did a really good job. They amped the pressure up from the beginning of the game. We made a couple of mistakes, they got a couple of 50/50 basketballs, they hit some big 3s. We gave up too many easy points to them and they capitalized on it. Simple.”
As the series shifts to South Philly, the Sixers are in a great position. They have home-court advantage, and they have Embiid back. They just need to make the necessary adjustments to bounce back on Friday.
“Obviously, they’re showing different schemes defensively vs. him, but we’ve got to get him going early in the game, see how they’re playing, and just fuel off of that,” Harris added. “If they want to double him, swing, swing, and get downhill to create some open looks for us as a whole group. We’ll make adjustments for Game 3 and be ready to get a victory.”
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