After coming up short at home in Game 3, the Philadelphia 76ers have abdicated control over their first-round series against their biggest rivals, the Boston Celtics. Now, the No. 2 seed in the East has snatched home court advantage back, and it is now incumbent upon the underdogs to knot the series in Game 4 and put the former back into a blender.
Unfortunately for Philly, it seems like their fantasy scenario is still unlikely to come to fruition in Game 4. Joel Embiid, who was listed as doubtful to play before their previous game, has the same tag attached to him in the injury report at this point in time. And given how tricky his recovery is, the 76ers are not going to put him back in the active loop and bypass medical prudence.
That puts the 76ers in a bind. Without Embiid in the lineup, they will have to try to beat the Celtics at their own game once again. They were already able to do that in Game 2, but to be frank, that was an anomalous shooting display relative to what Boston is capable of doing on the regular. Put simply, their chances remain slim without the former Most Valuable Player.
Joel Embiid remains a long shot to suit up for the 76ers in Game 4
While Embiid has a higher shot of making his return in Game 5 when the series shifts back to Boston, Game 4 could very well end up being the make-or-break contest for the 76ers. Of course, they would not want to go down 3-1 and lose both games at home before hitting the road to face a hostile crowd anew.
Boston was quite content letting the 76ers funnel their offense through their backcourt in Game 3, and the Celtics eventually got enough stops to slow down their predictable scoring attack. That is precisely where having Embiid could have helped in a huge way, especially since the superstar center has a distinct edge against Boston's personnel.
For now, there is still a slight chance that Embiid suits up for Game 4, but people would be wise not to bank on that happening. As a result, their fate in the playoffs rests on their other players, and it is now incumbent upon them to force this series into a deadlock.
If that transpires, the 76ers would be in decent position to regain control of the series, especially since that would give them more time to integrate Joel Embiid back into action.
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