Sixers: 3 takeaways from spineless Game 5 loss to Raptors
Sixers-Raptors game five takeaways: Depth will be Sixers’ downfall
The Sixers will probably win this series. There’s a bit more trepidation in making that prediction now than there was a few nights ago, but generally speaking, Philadelphia has the best player and home-court for a potential Game 7. The stars still align in Philadelphia’s favor.
That said, the Sixers do have a serious depth problem. “But the playoffs is a stars game!” True, but also not true. You need to build a real team around your stars and the Sixers have not done so. When the core players struggle — this is the second straight game where Embiid, Harden, and Maxey all struggled — Philadelphia is basically dead in the water. Whereas Toronto gets consistently uplifting performances from its bench, the Sixers are entirely reliant on the stars playing like stars, and right now, it’s fair to wonder whether the stars can consistently play like stars.
The Sixers have two consistently good defenders. In this game, Embiid just did not have the legs nor the focus to slow Toronto down. Matisse Thybulle might’ve helped, but he was so transcendently unplayable on offense that Philadelphia could not survive his minutes on the court. Georges Niang and Shake Milton did nothing of note, and the Sixers got blasted whenever Paul Reed stepped in for Embiid.
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Among the “stars who need to play like stars” are James Harden, who is shooting below 40 percent from the field right now, and Tyrese Maxey, who is 21 years old and hasn’t played well since Game 2. It’s too early in Maxey’s career to expect sustained elite play and Harden’s just not himself. Tobias Harris has been elite as the super-role player Philly needs him to be, but that’s not enough to win postseason games when everyone else is underperforming.
In the end, Joel Embiid has to be better if the Sixers want to accomplish anything of note — in this series or beyond. He scored 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, missed every 3-point attempt, and committed four turnovers. His defense was as bad as we’ve seen in a game this season. You can justifiably place some of the blame on his thumb, but the Raptors spent an extended portion of the second half attacking Embiid from the perimeter and beating him one-on-one every time. He didn’t move his feet and his decision-making was delayed all night. If he’s not showing up, no one on the team will.