Sixers
Back at home, Sixers attempt to close out series with Heat
Published24 Apr 2018
By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The two teams have already endured a tough, intense four games, but Game 5 already shows that it's going to be one heck of a game.
The Philadelphia 76ers (3-1) have a shot to knock off the Miami Heat (1-3) on their own home court after the Heat took Game 2 at the Wells Fargo Center.
Most of the games in this series have been extremely closely contested, with the Sixers getting enough edge at the finish in order to close them out.
26 turnovers in Game 4 on Saturday afternoon was the downfall for the Sixers, but even that wasn't enough to take the game away from them.
Coming back to Philadelphia in a possible elimination game for the other team is a huge scenario for the Sixers, as it would be nice to close the series out in five games to get a little bit of rest before the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals start up.
Rookie Ben Simmons is coming off a triple double in Game 4, becoming the first rookie since Magic Johnson to have a triple double in a playoff game.
A mixture of Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid has been just what the doctor ordered in this series as the Sixers have went from being a dominant playoff team without Embiid to being a scary playoff team with him.
Miami veteran guard Dwyane Wade has already said how this is "one of the best first round series I've ever played in."
Wade has played one heck of a series for the Heat in turn back the clock fashion. He scored 25 points in 26 minutes off the bench for the Heat in Game 4.
Since the Heat snapped the Sixers' 17-game winning streak in Game 2, the Sixers have been a extremely dominant and lethal team to play against.
The Sixers have outscored the Heat by 42 points in the fourth quarters through four games. Whatever Miami throws at Philadelphia during the course of the first three quarters of games, the Sixers dish it right back in the fourth.
Though the Sixers are in position to knock Miami out of the playoffs and advance to the Semifinals for the first time since 2012, the gameplan won't change much for Head Coach Brett Brown.
"My intention is not to speak anything into existence," Brown said. "It's all about trying help the team win. Like, we want to get better. We're gonna. We're going to go into Tuesday night and we're going to get better. I believe that if we think like that, act like that, coach like that, then the habit becomes, I hope, we're going to win."
At this point in the playoffs, the goal is to not only win this game and advance on into the Semifinals, it's to go all the way. The Sixers have been written off by many this season alone saying that while the team is in playoff form this season, next year is the year to go "all in." Quite frankly, for Joel Embiid and Allen Iverson, this isn't the mentality the team has this season. Both really believe the Sixers' "time is now."
In a weak Eastern Conference riddled with injuries and inconsistencies, the Sixers hope that they can gather enough momentum with their health and immense young talent to surprise a lot of people and teams this season to get out of the East and go to the NBA Finals.
The way this team is playing in this present moment, anything is possible.
The Sixers are just playing extremely good basketball right now, and it's not just Simmons and Embiid either making impacts. JJ Redick has been extremely good, showing the reason Bryan Colangelo brought him in on a 1-year, $23 million contract to provide veteran leadership to gear up for a playoff run. In the meantime, Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli have fit into very similar roles, both with playoff experience to help the Sixers succeed in these tough situations.
Ilyasova's post-game with the ability to create opportunities to score, capitalizing on his teammates' missed opportunities coupled with Belinelli's off-balance shot creating ability has provided the spark for the bench needed in this playoff series.
The bench has been a complete negative for the Sixers all season long and the addition of those two players alone have gotten the Sixers in the place they are at right now to get to the next round and perhaps even further.
The Heat are in a tough situation though, trailing 3 games to 1 with their backs against the wall, facing elimination. In order for them to advance to the next round, they have to best the Sixers in three straight games, which is an almost impossible order for a less talented team.
Miami Head Coach Erik Spoelstra is no stranger to tough situations, especially as a two-time NBA Champion.
"It's not necessarily us against the world," Spoelstra said. "It's us against the Philadelphia 76ers. We have to find a way to finish games. They've really nailed us in the fourth quarters of all four games, except the one we were able to pull away. We just have to do better. Through three quarters, we've been up. It's going to require a full 48-minute game of our absolute best effort."
The interesting thing about the Heat is that the team isn't led by just one player making all the scoring and making all the plays. It's been a team effort for them, but some things are done better by one player than others. If one player is having an off day, they often find it difficult for individuals to step up.
Dwyane Wade is 36-years-old playing in what could be his final game in a Miami Heat uniform. Scoring 25 points in an NBA Playoff game isn't something that's going to occur every time. Just in Game 3, scoring for Wade didn't come easy, as he had a "normal for his age" game for the Heat scoring just eight points off the bench.
The Heat's second unit is something that has been an issue for the team in this series, but Wade did tell reporters that he hopes Wayne Ellington gets going for them in Game 5.
Ellington has been a great bench piece for the Heat during the regular season, averaging 3 made threes on 8.0 attempts, while in the playoffs, he's just averaging 2 made threes on 6 attempts.
For the Heat, winning this game is ultra-important, in order to keep the season alive and head back to Miami to try to force a Game 7.
But the Sixers know how important this game is, to clinch a playoff series in front of their home fans would be a huge step in "The Process." The Sixers are in a place where anything is possible right now, and they're cruising along right where they want to be in these playoffs.
| Game 5 Preview | April 24, 2018 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Miami Heat | PHI Leads Series 3-1 | Philadelphia 76ers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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