76er's Comeback

As the series began, the 76er's had the struggle with not having their MVP Joel Embiid. Due to an injury that he had sustained during the last game of the Raptors series, he had to sit out for the first two games of the Heat series. With Embiid out the 76er's had many struggles.

Shooting is Key

As the series began, the Sixers seemed nervous going out there. The Sixers were taking too many low percentages especially from beyond the arc. Harden, Green, and Maxey all struggled shooting and it seemed like there were more airballs more than actual threes made. They also drove the lane while all the defenders would condense the paint. This resulted in bad team chemistry and not allowing them to win the first two games of the series. Joel finally returned for games three and four though allowing the Sixers to finally take these two games home. The offense looked more comfortable and finally starting shooting more efficiently. Embiid with his size was able to take control of the paint and score a good amount of points from their as well. Harden took off late in the game, scoring 16 points in the 4th quarter. He went 6-10 from three and also took to the lane as well being able to put up 31 points. 

Rebounds Win Games

The Heat took both games, not just from points but from grabbing the entirety of rebounds. Again, without Embiid's size, Adebayo was able to grab most of the rebounds and allowing the Heat's success to win the first two games. This comes from a result of the Sixer's shooting low percentage shots. The Heat's defense was able to box out and grab rebounds. They also took over the offensive side of rebounds as well. The Sixers lacked defense and were out rebounded on both sides of the ball. The reasoning for their success in games 3 and 4, is Joel's size and finally understanding how the Heat's offense functions. If they continue to play they way they have been playing, the Sixer's have a chance to come back being down two games to none. I truly believe without Embiid, the Sixer's struggle.

The Process Returns

As I have talked about in the previous paragraphs, Embiid seems to be the success of this team. With the size and leadership Embiid has, he can lead the team to the Finals. He may not put up a majority of teams points, but his defense and IQ is immaculate. He knows how to adapt to the game and sees how the other team operates. Like I said previously, he may not put up a majority of the points, but he puts up a decent amount of points to lead his team to victory. It just seems as though without Embiid the team makes mistakes and always pushes the offense to quickly. 

This series has taken a turn and is now favored for both teams. Do you think the Sixer's have what it takes to win this series? Is Embiid likely to win the MVP trophy? Or is Miami looking to come back in game five and take this series back? Let me know down below.