Philadelphia 76ers need to close out series in Game 5

For the most part, the Philadelphia 76ers have looked in control in this first round matchup against the Toronto Raptors. Despite Toronto being the most athletic and well-balanced team, the Sixers’ top-end talent has allowed them to take a 3-1 lead in the series.

This lead should have 76ers fans feeling comfortable, but the club hasn’t won the series yet and winning Game 5 is essential on several fronts.

The Philadelphia 76ers need to win Game 5.

The biggest issue for Philly moving forward is the ligament damage in MVP front runner Joel Embiid‘s shooting hard, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. This isn’t the type of injury that will heal without surgery. It’s guaranteed that Embiid will get it surgically repaired during the offseason per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. However, for now, he’s decided to play through it.

While that is commendable, that doesn’t come without its consequences. If his Game 4 performance is any indicator of what type of limitation this injury will cause Embiid, it means the Sixers will get him playing at about 70.0 percent of his ability. He struggled with aggression and turnovers in Game 4 and that could continue to be a problem.

Another reason why the 76ers need to close out Game 5 with a win is that it’s their home floor so players like Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, Danny Green, Georges Niang, Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton, and Paul Reed will have a bigger impact. Capitalizing on that home-court advantage is important considering they won’t get it again until Game 7 if the series is dragged out that far.

The last point to go over is the Raptors’ health situation. Despite Scottie Barnes returning to the floor in Game 4, he didn’t look like himself and the quicker this series ends the less likely that happens. It’s been reported that point guard Fred VanVleet won’t play in Game 5 either, per Bontemps of ESPN. VanVleet is one of their best players so having him miss a game or two is big for the 76ers so they need to capitalize on that as well.

In short, due to injuries on both sides and the Philadelphia 76ers having home-court advantage in Game 5 are the reasons why they need to finish this series in five games. If they don’t, then this puts them in danger of going seven games which is something they shouldn’t want.