Last night was brutal for the Philadelphia 76ers. They blew a chance to sweep the Washington Wizards and lost 122-114 in D.C. To be clear, there’s absolutely no reason to panic about the game itself. If the Sixers were going to lose one game this series, it was always going to be game four. Losing Embiid and playing against the Wizards and Referees turned out to be another obstacle.

Like clockwork, the storyline on Twitter and Philly sports talk radio, is Ben Simmons. Simmons continued to struggle shooting foul shots last night, finishing the game 5-for-11 from the free throw line, including some misses down the stretch in crunch time. Of course, when you have an All-Star caliber player like Ben Simmons, you would expect him to make big shots, especially from the foul line, when the Sixers needed him most. However that was just a small piece to the Sixers losing last night.

We’ll start with the most obvious and work our way through the mud from there.

Joel Embiid

The only thing that should be talked about after last night’s game would be Joel Embiid and his sore right knee. Embiid came down awkwardly on his knee in the second quarter of last night’s game. After the injury, Embiid walked into the locker room and did not return to action for the rest of the night.

Without Embiid, the Sixers completely lost their identity for the entire third quarter. After leading by one at halftime, the Sixers were outscored 32-19 in the third. They struggled to find any offensive rhythm without Embiid on the court. Obviously, losing Embiid for any amount of time would be a huge blow to the Sixers’ title chances. However, beating the Wizards on Wednesday and winning a series against the Atlanta Hawks, with or without Embiid, shouldn’t be a concern for the Sixers. We’ll discuss that later if needed.

Tyrese Maxey’s Spark and Exit

The stagnant Sixers offense and really, team as a whole, desperately needed a spark and Tyrese Maxey delivered with flying colors. Maxey was electric with the ball in his hands and even made some plays on defense, helping the Sixers claw their way back into the game. Maxey was then pulled with roughly five minutes left in the game which was puzzling given the success he was having creating shots and on the defensive end of the floor. He finished the game 6-for-12 from the floor with 15 points.

Hack-A-Ben

Ben Simmons was out of rhythm throughout the game thanks to early foul trouble. When Ben Simmons is in foul trouble, he’s unable to use his aggressive on both of the offensive and defensive sides of the court. The Wizards went into full “Hack-A-Ben” mode and sent Simmons to the foul line in the closing minutes of the game. The Sixers and Wizards were tied at 108 when the Hack-A-Thon started. Here’s the play-by-play of what happened next:

• Simmons goes 1-for-2 from the foul line
• Beal scores 2
• Simmons goes 1-for-2 from the foul line
• Gafford scores 2
• Simmons goes 1-for-2 from the foul line
• Gafford 1-for-2 from the foul line.

Ben Simmons was fouled three times right above the two minute mark. He was 50% from the line during that timeframe. We now arrive at the sub-two minute mark of the game. It’s 113-111. Hack-A-Ben has now ended. Ben Simmons split the Hack-A-Ben trips. The Wizards were +2 during Hack-A-Ben. The Sixers went at 1 point per possession during Hack-A-Ben. We went 0.8 points per possession outside of Hack-A-Ben in the second half.

I’m not writing Hack-A-Ben ever again. I will just write HAB if I have to mention it in the future.

Could it have been better? Of course it could have. No one is arguing that. Should Doc Rivers take Ben Simmons out of the game? Absolutely not. Blame Ben Simmons all you want. It’s just annoying and stupid at this point. If you’re simply focusing on Ben Simmons and him missing some foul shots, I don’t know what to tell you. It doesn’t even make sense given the other glaring issues with the Sixers last night.

Tobias Harris and the Sixers’ offensive game plan in the final frame, Danny Green and Seth Curry not stepping up and finding shots, Tyrese Maxey being pulled, and the general offensive scheme for the Sixers late in the fourth all equally hold a fair share of blame.

Tobias Harris and ISO Small-Ball Lineups

Doc Rivers put Ben Simmons in the dunker spot in a small-ball lineup and funneled everything through Tobias Harris and the rest of the supporting cast. This turned out to be a huge problem for the Sixers’ offense. Harris, nor anyone else that had the ball in their hands could create looks on offense.

It turned into ISO ball and Harris was already having a bad night. Tobias Harris shot 8-for-24 from the floor. If you’re looking for an issue in last night’s game, it would be best to start there. Also worth noting, the referees were absolutely terrible.

Doc Rivers End of Game Strategy and Post Game Presser

To say the very least, the Sixers adjusting mid-game to play without Embiid didn’t work out well. Pulling Tyrese Maxey at the end of the game, the lack of space, and the ISO small ball lineups where everything ran through Tobias Harris proved to be costly for the Sixers.

Few things about Doc Rivers’ postgame. First, if you ask him a question about one of his star players, he is 100% going to support his star players. Thinking that he is going to give the media anything less than full support for Ben Simmons is foolish and the media should know better.

Second, and most importantly, he’s absolutely correct.

There’s Only One Thing To Worry About

Joel Embiid and the extent of his injury is the only concern for the Sixers. Even with the collapse in the third quarter of last night’s game without Embiid, the Sixers still battled back from a double digit deficit and almost won the game to complete the sweep in D.C.

If Embiid can’t play tomorrow night, Doc Rivers and the Sixers will have time to prepare without him and should have no issue in beating the Wizards.

Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons is your best decision maker. He is your point guard. He is going to have the ball. He needs to make free throws. It’s frustrating as hell when he misses them. The Sixers will have to adjust late in games if he continues to do so and I have full confidence in Doc Rivers will do just that.

Game 5 Prediction: The Sixers will win Game 5 in Philly on Wednesday night, with or without Joel Embiid. Bet the house on it.

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Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY