NBA playoffs, the Raptors against the 76ers for the fourth game, the previous three games, the 76ers under the leadership of Embiid, Harden and Maxi lightly won the opponent, won the big score of 3-0, has reached the edge of the precipice of the Raptors, retreated, as the champion coach Nas quickly adjusted the tactics, to avoid sweeping, the two teams after four quarters of competition, in the end, the Raptors 110-102 victory over the 76ers, the big score back to 1-3, Rivers saw this score somewhat similar feeling, but in terms of the strength of both sides, Although the head coach of Nas is full of confidence in the turnaround after the game, from the current state of the Raptors, they still can't reach the chance of a big reversal.
The 76ers completely overpowered the Raptors in their first three games, why did they lose this game? Turning over the stats and collating player information, there are other reasons for the 76ers to lose this game, and we can't blame Harden, Embiid or Rivers for all the loss problems.
Embiid's injury problems plague the team
In this game, Embiid played nearly 40 minutes, shooting 7 of 16, 1 of 1 three-pointer, 9 free throws, 21 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers, such data for Embiid, who averaged more than 30 points per game in the season, is not at his normal level at all, especially 5 mistakes, it is impossible to accept himself, Embiid is so depressed, the reason is because of injury trouble, before this game, Embiid's right thumb initial examination showed ligament damage, but he won for the team, Determined to play this game, he hopes to finish the fourth game and return home for treatment and examination. In such an injury situation, Embiid's downturn can be fully understood, the lack of Embiid's powerful offensive firepower, so that the 76ers offensive and defensive ends are in great trouble, especially in the fourth quarter, Embiid's continuous mistakes, but also directly buried the efforts of the whole team.
In order to make Embiid feel pressure in his heart, a large number of Raptors fans held up signs to enter the arena, and some fans held up a photo of Embiid crying after being killed by the Raptors, they wanted to use this way to hit Embiid's mentality, it is clear that they did, Embiid was sleepwalking, completely did not play the momentum of the regular season scoring king, became one of the reasons for the 76ers to lose.
Rivers' tactical arrangements went awry
All the players of the 76ers did not play too well, in addition to Embiid's injury troubles, Green, Harris, Maxi, Harden and other players performed averagely, the whole team shot 31 of 13 three-pointers, there were 15 turnovers, rebounds were not strong, as another core, Harden played 42 minutes, 5 of 17, 8 of 3-pointers, won 11 free throws, got 22 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, plus four turnovers, although the plus-minus was the lowest -14 in the game. However, Harden still stabilized the situation for the team in the last quarter, single-handedly narrowing the point difference to 1 point, but Embiid and Harris made mistakes and wasted Harden's efforts.
Green's shot fell into a slump again, Maxi did not play a strong defensive counterattack, and Harris, like Embiid, was completely muddy on the court, Rivers, as the team's head coach, paid too little effort for this game, the adjustment was not timely, the tactics were targeted, when the team narrowed the point gap, Rivers did not give the team more adjustments, so that in the fourth quarter again fell into passivity, coupled with the Raptors' whole team refused to sweep, the will of the people. This led directly to the 76ers eventually losing.
Refereeing Issues - Foster became Harden's biggest nemesis
This problem has become the main reason for the 76ers' loss, referee Foster should be the NBA's most capable of punishing the "key" game referee, no one, the whistle of this game can not be described as biased towards the Raptors, he is simply blatantly blowing the black whistle, it is clear that the NBA league is not allowed to sweep the Raptors with the 76ers, and the referee gives the 76ers a clear arrangement.
Especially in the last quarter, the referee's control is really stable, the Raptors break through at will, each can cause opponents to foul, when the 76ers are just about to take off, the referee disrupted their offensive rhythm with fouls, when the game lost suspense, and began to make up the number of free throws for the 76ers, it can be seen that they are well-intentioned for this game. The Raptors scored 35 free throws, Siakam alone got 15 free throws, and in the final quarter he got 11 free throws, which was exactly Embiid's previous data, the 76ers scored 25 times, the whole game lost 8 points, and the free throw was also the score of the 76ers.
After the game, the elder Rivers talked about the game blowing penalties, saying: "The Raptors deserve this victory, we will not sit here and complain. Embiid applauded the referee after the match, claiming that "it feels like the referee is coming here to complete a task, their task is done, and it is done perfectly". It was clear that Rivers and Embiid were very unhappy with the referee. Because Foster did come with a mission, the fans knew it.
Losing this game will not affect the determination of the 76ers to advance, for Rivers, this early is a 3-0 lead, not a 3-1 lead, a reversal is impossible to reverse, for Embiid adjustment is imperative, for Harden, in addition to the best effort, need to play stronger.