Sixers: 3 adjustments they’ll have to make without Joel Embiid

3 adjustments they’ll have to make without Embiid: Seth Curry needs to be a focal point

Game 5 against the Wizards taught the Philadelphia 76ers one thing. If they are going to win a postseason game, they will need Seth Curry to play like his older player, Stephen Curry. In that Game 5, Curry had 30 points, two assists, two turnovers, and three fouls. He shot 11-17 from the field, 3-6 from the 3-point line, and 7-7 from the foul line.

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I previously wrote on why Curry was important to the 76ers playoff success, but that was before Embiid’s injury. As one could imagine, this is even more true now and the coaching staff will have to make sure to make him a primary scoring option in the flow of the offense.

Sure, Maxey getting into the starting five will allow Philly to have another creator in the half court and Howard playing more minutes will help anchor the interior defense even more so. However, against a high scoring team like the Hawks, Curry will have to play some of the best basketball of his career.

Simmons isn’t going to be a 20-plus point scorer for this whole series, that’s not who he is and fans can’t expect him to be that. Tobias Harris has been the team’s second leading scorer this season and has stepped it up in the playoffs thus far, but he will have a tough matchup against John Collins and can’t do it all on his own.

Curry will have to be aggressive hunting his shot and will have to play like he’s one of the best scorers on the court. Obviously, that won’t be the case as Trae Young will be on the court, but Curry will have to try his best to match his aggressiveness to Young’s. If he doesn’t, then the 76ers don’t have a high percentage of winning any games in this series without Embiid.

The Sixers’ coaching staff has to make adjustments for when Embiid can’t play in this second round series against the Hawks. If Howard plays more minutes, Maxey starts, and Curry is made one of the focal points on offense, then the 76ers should be able to win this series without Embiid playing every single game.