The Sixers blew their chance to tie the series. Now, down 3-1, their season is on the line as they head back to New York for Game 5 against the Knicks.
Game 4 could have ended differently. It should have ended differently. The Sixers had plenty of opportunities to close it out and tie their series against the Knicks. Instead, the Sixers’ offense fell apart to end the fourth quarter and they’re returning to Madison Square Garden on Tuesday following a 97-92 defeat, with their season on the line.
As the Sixers try to extend this series in Game 5, there are plenty of things to monitor and improvements that need to be made. Including…
Rebounding
After two improved performances on the glass in Games 2 and 3, the Knicks’ fierce offensive rebounding yet again became a huge factor in turning the tide on Sunday. New York finished Game 4 with 15 offensive rebounds, including seven in the fourth quarter which proved pivotal in killing any chance the Sixers had at building some momentum.
Put all that together, and the Knicks finished with 21 second-chance points. It’s simply too hard to win games when you’re allowing that many extra opportunities to score. Josh Hart continues to successfully crash the boards like a mad man and the rest of the team keeps chipping in, too.
Any improved attention to detail with their boxing out and rebounding in Game 5 would make a real difference, but it’s hard to count on that with how one-sided the battle of the boards has been in this series.
Rotation management
De’Anthony Melton made his first appearance of the playoffs in Game 4 with seven minutes. While he had some solid moments defensively, he understandably looked like he had some rust to shake off offensively. Cameron Payne provided a jolt of energy in his near 14 minutes with five quick points, and Buddy Hield never even got on the floor.
If Nick Nurse wants to shake things up on Tuesday and see if someone can get hot to support the team’s stars, maybe Hield gets a shot again. It’s hard to see Hield getting long to prove himself, though, given his complete lack of impact in the series so far.
As for the biggest rotation change? That was Nurse making the bold decision to play Joel Embiid the entire second half. It was the first time Embiid had played an entire second half in his career, and you can see some of Nurse’s thinking. Just consider the stakes, how much worse the Sixers have been with Embiid off the floor this postseason (and in all of time), and how Paul Reed struggled in his brief minutes earlier in the game. Reed over dribbled and looked awkward on offense, and lacked the size/length as a rim protector to deter the Knicks’ physicality and finishing.
Yet Embiid clearly hasn’t had enough time to get his stamina fully back in the few weeks he’s had since returning from two months off while playing on one good leg. Come the fourth quarter, he was fighting but was understandably gassed.
I’d be surprised to see Nurse go this route again in Game 5, so we’ll see if he/the rest of the team can buy Embiid a little extra rest at any point earlier on so he can have something left in the tank for the final stretch.
Trying to contain Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson was phenomenal in Game 4, recording a franchise playoff record of 47 points on 18-of-34 shooting (plus a 9-of-11 mark from the free throw line) and 10 assists.
The Sixers held Brunson to just 29.1 percent shooting and an average of 23 points over the first two games, but he’s looked more comfortable creating space inside the arc and finding spots to finish at the rim and use his floaters since then. The Sixers have still played some quality defense on him, whether Kelly Oubre Jr.’s been competing well or Nicolas Batum has been chasing Brunson and using his length to be a nuisance. But Brunson was too good with his footwork, touch, and tough shot-making in traffic to be stopped in Game 4.
What defenders the Sixers use most on him on Tuesday, what defensive schemes they favor (Embiid isn’t at his most mobile right now to consistently hang with drives when he comes up to the level of the screen), and whether they look to blitz more of Brunson’s pick-and-rolls and throw more doubles at him will be key to follow. We’ll see if Philly can find a way to get the ball out of Brunson’s hands more.
The Knicks downsizing
With Mitchell Robinson sidelined and Isaiah Hartenstein in trouble with five fouls, the Knicks downsized in the second half with 6-foot-8 Precious Achiuwa at center. And rather than it working against them, the Knicks found success. They were able to fly around the floor, maintain terrific effort, apply high pressure at the perimeter, and OG Anunoby (one of the league’s finest defenders who can legitimately guard 1 through 5) did an excellent job covering Embiid in the fourth quarter. They messed things up for the Sixers’ offense and still maintained their rebounding advantage despite the drop in size.
“Well, he did a good job,” Nurse said of Anunoby’s defense on Embiid. “OG can obviously guard. It’s that and the scheme as well. When he [Embiid] got it, they were getting it out of his hands, and again, I think he made really great reads. You guys can see those plays, like I can in your head right now where we’re swinging it around. We got Kelly on a back-cut layup. We got swing around threes. We got pass, pass, corner three. Making the right reads, you have to step in and make them.”
While Bojan Bogdanovic (left foot contusion) remains out for Game 5, Robinson (left ankle sprain) is questionable to return. More worrying than Robinson’s potential return, though, is the Sixers needing to deal with the new usage of Anunoby.
And this all connects to the biggest issue…
Offensive execution
This is the most important factor heading into Game 5. The Sixers were competing on defense and generally had a solid game in that regard, despite being completely outmatched on the boards. Their offense mostly performed fairly well through the first three and a half quarters as well.
But it was offense in the final five minutes where they fell apart. As the Knicks’ defense stepped up (they deserve credit as much as Philly deserves criticism), the Sixers missed their last 11 field goal attempts.
An absolute disaster on the offensive end for the Sixers in the last 5:05 (time of their last FG) of Game 4 vs. Knicks.
Here’s every possession Philadelphia had in that final five minutes, with running stats. It wasn’t pretty. #Sixers pic.twitter.com/ExnH6n1ILL
— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) April 28, 2024
Embiid was constantly doubled and despite making some good reads to open teammates, they weren’t able to capitalize. Tyrese Maxey cooled down, finished shooting 8-of-21, and had a hard time creating space down the stretch. A possession was wasted as Oubre pulled up for three off a screen from Kyle Lowry while Maxey and Embiid were sitting off the ball. Players were hesitant to shoot and didn’t always space the floor effectively around Embiid. The team frequently took too long getting their possessions started, which led to some rushed and ill-advised passes.
There was poor execution all around, and that more than anything cost them the game.
Maybe the Sixers will make some improvements in these areas in Game 5. Maybe they’ll cut Tobias Harris’s minutes and get some better spacing/passing from Batum, or shoot with more decisiveness when Embiid passes out of double teams, or Maxey will return to the form he showed earlier in the series, or the team’s passing and off-ball movement will sharpen up, or they’ll finally cut down the Knicks’ second-chance points.
Ultimately, it’s hard to imagine the Sixers finding any way to come back from this 3-1 deficit. But let’s see if they can respond to at least extend the series.
Game Details
Who: New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers
When: 7:00 pm ET
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Watch: TNT
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
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