Down 2-1 in the series, the Sixers will host the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals today at 3:30PM.

It’s funny how quickly things can change over the course of a week…

The Sixers stormed out of the gates in round two of the NBA playoffs by stealing Game 1 from the Boston Celtics on their home court. James Harden scored 45 points to give the Sixers a 1-0 series lead while Joel Embiid didn’t even play. 

Boston then responded in dominant fashion to take Game 2 and send the series back to Philly tied 1-1.

Joel Embiid returned to the court but the MVP was clearly rusty and the Sixers as a whole couldn’t piece together enough offense to keep the game competitive. 

On Friday night, Embiid took the court pregame to officially accept the NBA MVP trophy in front of his family, teammates, and a sold out crowd at the Wells Fargo Center. 

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The fun stopped there. 

While Embiid scored 30 points with 13 rebounds, the rest of the Sixers team (outside of PJ Tucker) didn’t show up. Tyrese Maxey added 13 points and six rebounds while PJ Tucker finally took some shots from beyond the arc, scoring nine points on the night. De’Anthony Melton scored 14 points with eight rebounds while Tobias Harris added seven points and four rebounds. 

James Harden had 16 points on 3-of-14 shooting from the floor with 11 assists and six rebounds. He also turned the ball over five times. Harden and Maxey combined for a miserable 7-of-30 from the floor. 

Again, in Game 3 of the NBA playoffs, no Sixers player outside of Joel Embiid scored more than 16 points.

That will always be a losing formula for any team that has NBA Finals aspirations.

The Final Stand: Celtics-Sixers Game 4

We have now arrived to Game 4.

Fans on social media are in complete disarray and have already ruled out the Sixers from winning this series less than a week after the won Game 1 in Boston. 

Discussions about James Harden leaving after this season, how Tyrese Maxey doesn’t deserve a max contract, how Tobias Harris, yet again, needs to be shipped out of Philadelphia, and how no one in their right minds will blame Joel Embiid when he requests a trade over the summer. 

Yikes. 

Boston has reclaimed home court advantage in this series and the 76ers are playing with their backs up against the wall while the majority of the city has written them off from even competing today.

Joel Embiid Takeover

The Philadelphia 76ers have been here before and it’s time they start acting like it.

We are now entering the fifth time in six straight seasons where this team has reached the East semifinals and it’s time to get busy. 

Joel Embiid has only taken 28 shots over the past two games which isn’t going to cut it if the Sixers want to tie this series up. He logged just 15 points in 27 minutes in his return to action in Game 2 followed by 39 minutes in Game 3, shooting 9-for-19 from the floor for 30 points, including 11-for-12 from the foul line. 

Doc Rivers has to get Embiid down low and find ways to generate more shot opportunities against an undersized and really undermanned Boston front court. 

They literally cannot stop him. 

Tobias Harris also cannot go another game with only six field goal attempts. Harris is really the only  player capable on the Sixers to work out of the dunker spot underneath and he has to be willing to be aggressive and take advantage of the Boston front court. 

A healthy dose of Embiid and Harris underneath while PJ Tucker creates spacing from the corner three spot will also open up the perimeter for James Harden and Tyrese Maxey to drive and create open, high efficient looks at the basket.

James Harden Legacy Game

James Harden needs to silence the critics.

He’s made just 5-of-28 shots from the floor including a miserable 2-of-13 from three point range since Game 1 and if he doesn’t show up today for the first time in nearly a week, then the Sixers will have zero chance at winning this basketball game. Period.

We are talking about a future Hall of Fame basketball player. Harden is one of the greatest players of all time and if he wants to continue to be viewed as such then his playoff performances need be better.

I don’t really think it’s crazy to say that Game 4 tonight, with all of the talk about the Sixers and their second round struggles, after two straight games of misery, that this matchup today is a legacy game for James Harden. 

Odds: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers – Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA – 3:30PM

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Sixers Player Props

• Joel Embiid to Score 30+ Points (+105)
• James Harden 4+ Made Threes (+260)
• Tobias Harris to Score 15+ Points (+100)
• De’Anthony Melton 3+ Made Threes (+290)

Parlay +8649 ($10 to win $864.95)

Prediction

While everyone else thinks the sky is falling, I am still a firm believer that this series goes to Game 7.

The Boston Celtics are a very good basketball team. We hit first and they responded by winning the next two games. The Sixers will tie this series 2-2 before heading back to Boston for Game 5. From there, they’ll return to Philadelphia down 3-2 and tie it up again to force a Game 7. 

As for Game 7, that’s for the basketball gods to decide and we’ll worry about that once we get there. 

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