Did circumstances ruin what might have been a long playoff run for the Philadelphia 76ers? The Boston series was a lot closer than the final results.
Fallacy: But the Sixers got swept by the Celtics, they proved they were awful
Fact: Every obituary written about the last year’s 76ers team ends the same way: They were embarrassingly swept by the Boston Celtics.
Yes, Boston won the series, 4-0, there is no getting around that. But, if you look at it more closely, the series was much closer than that. The Sixers could have won three of those four games.
Let us also remember the state of the team at that time. Ben Simmons was back for play in the Bubble but he injured his knee after a few games and was out for the rest. So, suddenly, the team had to adjust.
The Sixers had started out red hot in Orlando, winning three of their first four games. Their only loss was against Indiana, when T.J. Warren dropped 53 points on them, and they still only lost that one by six.
Without Simmons, the Sixers began to fade, winning just one of their final four games of the regular season. Because of their losing., the Miami Heat was able to cling to the No. 5 seed by one game over the Sixers.
As the No. 6 seed, the Sixers played No. 3 Boston, instead of No. 4 Indiana, who were soon to fire their coach.
In Game 1, Embiid missed a layup that would have cut Boston’s lead to two with 28 seconds left. Game 2 was a total blow out by the Celtics, they creamed them 128-101.
In pivotal Game 3, the Sixers held the lead with three minutes, 48 seconds to go. Boston still only held a one-point lead with 1:23 left. Considering the Sixers did not make a shot in the final 4:38, they put up a pretty good battle.
For Game 4, the Sixers only lost by four points despite Kemba Walker having his biggest game of the series, with 32 points. The Sixers tralied since late in the third period but they ended the contest on a 16-6 run, so this dysfunctional teams fought until the end.
Do not forget that, under normal circumstances, Games 3 and 4 would have been played at the Wells Fargo Center, where the 76ers were virtually unbeatable, literally. Except for a two-game hiccup in late December, the Sixers never lost a game at home all season.
Judging by how close the games were on a neutral court, it is not hard to extrapolate that the Sixers would have won Games 3 and 4 if played at the center in front of fans, and the series would have headed to Boston tied at 2-2.
Fallacy: The Sixers were built for the playoffs, but they really weren’t
Fact:: The Miami Heat had a record that was a whole one game better than the 76ers at the end of regular season play in the Bubble.
As the No. 5 seed, they got to play a Pacers team in turmoil, and then a Milwaukee Bucks team that, once again, did not seem prepared for the playoffs. Then they faced a Celtics team more short-handed and worn down than the edition that played the Sixers.
What if the 76ers had ended up the No. 5 seed in the bubble? Unless Warren scored 53 again, the Pacers would have been no trouble. The Sixers were literally built to beat the Bucks in the playoffs, they could have pulled that off. Boston would have been a hard out but we know they would have given them tough games.
If not for a one-game difference in the standings, maybe the 76ers would have taken on the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA finals instead of the Heat.
Are we saying that Brett Brown should still be coaching the Sixers and Elton Brand running management, with analytics guru Alex Rucker giving him all kind of advice. No. It was time.
Heck, even Brand does not believe that, as he fired Brown and took full reigns of the organization before Daryl Morey arrived.
But, let us also remember that Morey and Rivers are not taking over some terrible team that was in the lottery. With all their many, many problems, last year’s 76ers, if not for the pandemic, would have most likely went 51-31 and been the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the East.
They new guys have a higher bar to achieve success over the old crew, than people may remember.