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The Philadelphia 76ers once again failed to advance to the second round after the Raptors took a 103-88 win in Game 5 to bring the series back to Canada for Game 6. Philadelphia has lost two potential closeout games in a row, which has Sixers fans sweating buckets.
The Sixers went up 3-0 when Joel Embiid drained a game-winning three-pointer to win Game 3, which essentially ensured them a second-round ticket, right? No team in NBA history has overcome those odds. Well, hold on for a second. After two straight losses, especially the latest at home versus a Raptors team missing its All-Star guard Fred VanVleet, and the series headed back to Toronto, the Sixers have their fans thinking the impossible.
Pointing fingers is definitely not ideal at this point. But three Sixers are to blame for that Game 5 debacle that really should have propelled Philadelphia to the Eastern Conference semi-finals. Here they are:
3 Sixers most to blame for Game 5 debacle
1. James Harden
It's plain and simple: James Harden needs to be better. Harden had 15 points on just 4-of-11 shooting in Game 3. The output is certainly lackluster, considering the shooting guard once averaged 30-plus points for three straight seasons.
But it's more than just the points production that's concerning. What's more worrying is that he took just 11 shots. Harden needs to be more aggressive than that in order for Philadelphia to close this out. While we get he wants to get everyone involved and let MVP candidate Joel Embiid go to work, he needs to hunt his own shots more to put the Sixers in a better position to win.
Embiid even urged Harden to be more aggressive and be himself.
In addition to his low shot total, Harden also committed five turnovers. The Beard has become the main facilitator on the Sixers which is why he must do a better job of limiting his giveaways.
2. Joel Embiid
In regards to how he played in Game 5, Embiid kept it simple: he needs to be better. The big man himself acknowledged he was terrible defensively on Monday.
The Sixers confirmed Sunday that Embiid had a torn ligament in his right thumb and will need to undergo surgery. However, he opted to play through the injury and postpone the knife until after the postseason. While Embiid isn't one to make excuses, he did admit the injury was on his mind, which affected his usual aggressiveness and energy on both ends of the floor.
“I'm in a situation where I try to protect it,” Embiid said in the post-game press conference. “Before I even attack, if I get the ball, it's almost like I'm not playing freely. Where I'm like, ‘If I do this, I might get hit, or I might get hurt.'
Mentally, I just got to get out of that and just hope for the best and just be myself and not think about which move can put me in a position to get hit or get hurt even more. So, I'll work on it.”
3. Doc Rivers
It's been going around NBA Twitter that no other coach has blown more 3-1 series leads than Doc Rivers. With the Sixers failing to close out Toronto twice over the last three days, those memes of Rivers possibly doing the unthinkable — blowing a 3-0 series lead — are already creeping up.
Of course, all the jokes could go up in smoke with another Sixers win in Game 6, or a possible Game 7 win back in Philadelphia. Nonetheless, it's still concerning that this series is even going back to Toronto, considering the Raptors were without Fred VanVleet for Game 5.
With that said, the blame should fall on Rivers' lap because he should be able to rally his troops to close out the series against an undermanned Raptors team, especially on their home floor. But despite his track record, the 60-year-old is still one of the most respected coaches in the NBA.
