This season's NBA playoffs are very interesting, that is, the 8 teams that have entered the semifinals, all of which are the top 4 teams in the division, that is to say, there is no one round of the next round in the first round, and it can also be seen that the regular season is played well, and the strength is indeed dominant.
In the semifinals that have already ended, the Bucks defeated the Green Army, the Warriors defeated the Grizzlies to take the initiative in the series, and the 76ers will play the Heat on the road in their first game!
The 76ers ranked 4th in the East, the Heat 1st and 2nd in the East, there is a gap in the rankings, but there is not much difference in record, the strength is almost the same, the series has a chance to win, but before the series starts, the 76ers are hit hard.
76ers core Embiid was hit in the face by Sika in the 6th game with the Raptors, not only the eye socket fracture, but also a concussion, which made Embiid unable to make a truce, and the 1st game with the Heat was certainly impossible to fight, and it was uncertain when he would return.
Without Embiid, the 76ers have not only lost an offensive core, but also their biggest advantage! The Heat are strong, strong in the backcourt and front, which is their advantage, and the 76ers' advantage lies in their height and interior line, especially Embiid's face to Adebayo, taking advantage of the advantage, once he does not play, the 76ers' interior offensive and defensive will change from advantage to disadvantage, and the gap between the team and the Heat is suddenly opened.
No way, Embiid doesn't play, Rivers always has to deal with it! On the offensive end, Rivers adjusted Harden back to the main attacker and expected him to play the offensive power he had when he was with the Rockets to fill the offensive gap in Embiid's absence. As for the interior line, Rivers put Jordan Jr. on top of the technique, although to ensure the team's height on the field, but Little Jordan, understand everyone understands, basically is not defensive, the team's interior line defense will become a big problem.
The 76ers lost Embiid, the Heat weren't all there, and Lowry couldn't play in the first game due to injury, but they weren't really afraid! Both Hiro and Dunro can make up for lowry's firepower on the offensive end, especially Oladipo's strong recovery, giving the Heat more options, and they have only one goal in the case that Embiid can't play, that is, to win.
The two sides were on the verge of a big fight, and the Heat relied on home advantage and Adebayo's threat from the basket to quickly master the rhythm of the game and open up the double-digit point difference! Seeing that the situation was not good, Harden broke out in the second quarter, shooting 3 of 4, and frequently led his teammates, surpassing the Heat by one point in the half.
However, in the second half, the problem of the 76ers without Embiid began to show! The lack of stable core points on the offensive end makes the team's offense intermittent and unsustainable, and the lack of height in the inner line not only restricts Adebayor, but also allows the Heat to continuously impact the inside line, and the game trend is therefore completely reversed to the Heat, the point difference is slowly opened, 10 points, 20 points, until the game loses suspense, and finally the Heat won 106:92 over the 76ers, and the series led 1:0.
Without Embiid, the first game of the series also lost suspense, and the Heat defeated the 76ers and won the first game! In this game, Rivers's arrangement is not bad, but the team in the absence of Embiid, the strength gap is still somewhat obvious, especially Harden, completely lost the voice.
Facing Harden, the Heat adopted a defensive strategy against Trae Young, although Harden's experience and ability are slightly higher than Trae Young,but under the heat's defense, it still lost its dominance, shooting 5 of 13 from the field, only 16 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and 5 turnovers, personal offense did not play out, driving teammates on the unsuccessful, coupled with too many mistakes, the 76ers were completely like a headless fly, completely lost their measure, and also lost the opportunity to fight against the Heat.
Defeated, the 76ers' first loss is expected, but also see the indispensability of Embiid, the 76ers are also very much looking forward to Embiid's comeback, if Embiid can play the 2nd game, the 76ers may still have a chance, but if you wait until G3, or even G4, the 76ers want to win the series, it is really hanging.