Sixers
With series tied, Sixers aim to edge Heat in Game 3 on the road
Published19 Apr 2018
By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Tip-off: 7:00 pm ❖ Location: Miami, FL ❖ TV: TNT, NBC Sports Philadelphia ❖ Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic, 97.3 ESPN
With the series tied at one game apiece, the Philadelphia 76ers travel to Miami for Game 3 on Thursday night against the Heat.
The Heat are coming off a Game 2 win at the Wells Fargo Center on Monday that saw the Sixers shoot the ball terribly from beyond the arc. After shooting over 60 percent from beyond on Saturday, they shot under 20 percent on Monday.
In order to come out victorious on Thursday, the Sixers will need to shoot a lot better than that all around.
The biggest question mark surrounding the Sixers heading into Thursday night's game is the probability of Joel Embiid (orbital bone) playing. The Sixers listed him as doubtful to play as of Thursday morning, but according to Keith Pompey of Philly.com, he's been upgraded to probable. In media terms, probable = expected.
The NBA internal injury report now has Joel Embiid listed as probable.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) April 19, 2018
If Embiid doesn't play, the Sixers will once again be forced to work with a combination of players at center, whether that be Amir Johnson or Ersan Ilyasova, with occasional minutes granted to Richaun Holmes. If Embiid does play, then this isn't as much of an issue.
Head Coach Brett Brown told reporters on Thursday after practice that he plans on using rookie point guard Markelle Fultz a lot more in a backup role to Ben Simmons, rather than backing up T.J. McConnell.
Brett Brown plans to play Markelle Fultz in game three. "I will go back to Markelle … He deserves the opportunity to play basketball in that role again."
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) April 19, 2018
Fultz only played five minutes in Game 2, not scoring a point, going 0-for-3 from the floor. In Game 1, Fultz played 14 minutes, scoring five points, with four assists, and two rebounds. Brown must be seeing a mismatch that will allow Fultz to be more of a contributor to the offense than McConnell in Game 3.
Ben Simmons has been impressive as a rookie in his first playoff series. Simmons scored 24 points in Game 2, leading his team. Heat guard and future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade has been extremely impressed with what he's seen from Simmons this season.
Asked Wade his impressions of @BenSimmons25: pic.twitter.com/lIz6M9EktJ
— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) April 19, 2018
Speaking of Wade, the Sixers need to figure out a way to keep Wade off the court, or limit the amount of shots and big plays he makes at all times. Wade had a turn back the clock game in Game 2, scoring 28 points, and was one of the major reasons the Sixers dropped their first game of the playoffs at home.
The Sixers' loss on Monday was their first defeat in 17 games. A loss early on in the postseason may actually be the best route for a team that is looking to do more than just compete in the first round. Before Monday, it had been more than a month since the Sixers lost a game. As with anything else, getting into a routine like that becomes a habit. The Sixers will need to bring their same mentality they've been having the last month back into Game 3 and spoil the party for the Heat.
It's been a long time since the Sixers last won a game in South Beach, as I wrote on Wednesday. Four years of misery in the same location, including two losses on the road this season is something that is difficult to return from. However, the Sixers are in a state now of not thinking that anything is too big for them.
They might have suffered a small blip on the radar on Monday, but getting back on track is definitely in the cards for this young, resilient, Sixers team.
| Game 3 Preview | April 19, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Philadelphia 76ers | Series Tied 1-1 | Miami Heat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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