The Philadelphia 76ers were trounced in Game 5 and now face elimination moving forward.
After jumping out to a 2-1 series lead, the Philadelphia 76ers have fallen back to earth — hard. The Raptors stole Game 4 on the road before returning north and stomping the Sixers in Game 5, winning by 36 points.
It was what some expected before the series, only magnified. Toronto was crisper on defense, more cohesive on offense and beat the Sixers in just about every aspect. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were no-shows, to boot, leaving Jimmy Butler to carry the burden.
The series isn’t over, but the Sixers are now down 3-2 and facing elimination. Even if Brett Brown can rally the troops and win at home, a Game 7 victory on the road — in front of Toronto’s crowd with Kawhi Leonard alive — feels less than probable.
Through four games, the Sixers were the superior team, both in terms of depth and execution. That went to crap on Tuesday, as the Raptors’ supporting cast both showed up and showed out. Toronto answered Philadelphia’s size with bigger lineups, crashing the glass and clogging the paint. Credit to Nick Nurse for making the proper adjustments.
With so much in the hands of Philadelphia’s starting five, it’s hard to win when only one player shows up on a consistent basis. That’s been the case with Jimmy Butler all series. Game 5 was an example to the extreme, as just about everyone else struggled.
Embiid’s ongoing health issues haven’t helped. He was against out of sorts, clearly ailed by whatever virus is traversing his system. You can critique Embiid’s play, but those questioning his toughness are in the wrong. His diet and effort don’t equate to legitimate sickness. Those are straws you can’t grasp.
The Sixers need more from the collective when Embiid struggles. Game 2 was proof the Sixers can win in lieu of Embiid’s dominance, but Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick can’t lay eggs as well. Not against a team of Toronto’s caliber.
Game 5 was bad from start to finish. The Sixers somehow survived an ugly first quarter down one, but it caught up to them rather quickly. It was a 21-point Raptors lead at halftime, and it wouldn’t subside much outside a brief 10-2 spurt to start the third quarter.
Philadelphia was turnover-prone, lackadaisical and flat. It was a severely disappointing game in what was built up to be an exciting, pivotal contest. The Sixers have shown they can compete. Game 6 will need to feature major changes, though — both schematically and in terms of approach.
We’ll see what happens when the series shifts back to South Philly on Thursday.