The combat mechanism is as much a feature of the NBA playoffs as the postgame podium.
"You must have a short-term memory," said Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Tyrese Maxi.
Maxi was referring to the defending position with Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young under pressure to extract "Logo 3" from only 35 feet. Yet on a broader level, it was a recipe for the Sixers to blow up a 26-point second-half lead on their home floor in Game 5 in the wake of losing a 16-point lead in Game 4. The postseason flows by so fast, and the demands of being physically and mentally healthy are so important that it's impossible to live in disgrace.
Sixers forward Tobias Harris, who endured a particularly bad night at the loss, turned off his phone. Sixers guard Seth Curry kept up his routine of watching movies, checking out other post-season series, and moving through his workouts. But the only defense to defeat is redemption.
Remaining in the game after a brief outage at 1:59 after the lights at the State Farm Arena, what looked like a concert crowd waiting for an encore – thousands of smartphones glowing in the dark – the Sixers played one after another. Completed his dominance with a 104-99 victory over Atlanta.
"Tonight, we just kept saying to each other, '48 minutes,'" said Sixers center Joel Embiid. "'That's what we have to do, and we'll be fine.'"
The first half was more difficult for the Sixers. Their perimeter shooters run collective 4-for-15s beyond the arc. All-Star center Joel Embiid was incapacitated, and first-team All-defender Ben Simmons was sitting on a foul. Despite being in the paint for more than half the time, the Sixers could hardly afford a trip to Stripe; And Trai Young let loose for 20 points. Despite all this, Philadelphia only went 51-47 in the half.
Coming out of the locker room, the top-ranked defense in the Eastern Conference went to work. His 14-0 run to start the half was as much a product of his defense as Curry's shooting exploits. Trai Young, who spent the first half running north to south tormenting the Sixers with his lobes, pushed himself out and to the side. In the second half, Young scored five field goals, only one trip to the line, and swung the ball four times.
After two fatal falls, the Sixers bowed down. Embiid still found himself frustrated, but he was a master of the offensive glass and commanded a double-team to keep the Hawks off balance. Harris reached the rim on several occasions. And Maxi provided some much-needed defense on Young and pulled out a 3-pointer during a drought for both teams in the fourth quarter.
The now-best home team of the East will host Game 7 on Sunday after six games, featuring both hard defense and personal offensive blasts. Several defensive strategies have been deployed against Young, while the Hawks have attempted to send several defenders into Embiid with mixed success.
Opponents know each other's tendencies very well after two weeks of fighting, which makes Game 7 more about execution than creativity.
Based on Friday night's Sixers win, here are some key factors that could prove decisive:
Can the Sixers outlast Ben Simmons?
Simmons holds the title of a Sixers point guard, but his skill set bears more in common with Drummond Green than Chris Paul. Of the 19 players in this series with at least 10 field goal attempts on the half court, according to Second Spectrum, Simmons ranks last in shots per possession on the half court. This will be a good time to have Simmons join forces with his fellow All-Stars in a position to feast on jumpers coming from the high screen, finding some opportunities for them as a Sixers cutter or with some small pick-and-rolls himself. will help. close to the circle. However they do, the Sixers can use more production than what it can offer – as long as there is opportunity.
Does Trae Young have another?
Atlanta's devastating drag screen was working early, and it produced alley-oops for Hawks center Clint Capela, as well as room for Young to fire from a distance against the Sixers' lean defenders. But size might bother Young — and it is in this series. Against Simmons, he is generating only .97 points per chance on the picks (his regular season output was 1.06 points per chance). The Hawks have enjoyed their moments during the series, but will need double-drag humming on Sunday if they want to win the series – Collins and Capella slowing Simmons, then popping and diving respectively. Hawks will likely work in more small-stagger screens as well—and they'll also need their shooters to eliminate some of the looks created by their primary functions.
Can Joel Embiid dominate Atlanta?
Capella was one of the league's better rim defenders this season, but has struggled to contain Embiid one-on-one (who doesn't). Embiid has sometimes worked beautifully against double-teams, with timely kickouts that send the ball around the perimeter and into the hands of Sixers shooters. Philadelphia simply doesn't have a perimeter player that demands that kind of attention. Using Embiid in the down and dribble handoff and as a screener for Curry would be a good decongestant - as the perimeter combo Curry and Embiid generated some good offense for the Sixers. With Curry's sharpness of late, this could be a powerful source of pressure on the Hawks' defence.
Can Atlanta find Philadelphia shooters in transition?
There's no good reason why Curry should beat the entire Hawks unit in his spot on the wing from an Atlanta miss, as he's hit two 3-pointers in a row. It's one of the most elementary principles in high-level basketball, but the Friday Night Hawks couldn't be bothered to adhere to it. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Curry scored 11 of his 24 points in Game 6 in the transition, and got four uncontested forms from a 3-point distance, hitting three of them. After Curry burned them to take the lead in the third quarter, Furkan Korkamaz stepped into the act, moving ahead of Atlanta's ineffective transition D out of live-ball turnovers for his own clean form from afar. In all, the Sixers got eight uncontested field goal attempts on Friday, and converted seven of them. Some youthful indiscretion is one thing, but a team with little experience in the postseason can't afford to be marginalized if they aspire to win Game 7 on the road.
Will Bogdan Bogdanovic be available?
Atalanta are already thin in the wings, with the extended absence of Cam Radisch, the loss of DeAndre Hunter, and now potentially Bogdanovic, who left Game 6 with a pain in his right knee. Although he hasn't shot well in the series, he is critical of the gap which provides fertile ground for his pick-and-roll attack. Behind him, the Hawks have Lou Williams, Solomon Hill and Tony Snell. Although he hit some big shots in Atlanta's furious return in Game 5, Williams is a defensive sieve that is best used in short spurts against opposing bench units. And neither Hill nor Snell have been aggressively productive. kris Dunn, who spent a year recovering from ankle surgery, is available for the Hawks. Dunn is a premium perimeter defender with All-NBA potential, but he plays only 45 minutes in the regular season and three minutes in the post season. Whatever the contingency may be, the reservoir will be extended to meet it.
Can Tobias Harris Have Some Juice?
After a disappointing Game 5, Harris was dominant in Friday's win, scoring 24 points on a 9-for-20 shooting from the field, despite an early upset. Sixers coach Doc Rivers said after Game 6, "I thought he'd be back in that old sluggish grip the last two games." "Tonight, it was early. It was attack. It was downhill. That's it." Harris is important to the Sixers, in large part because his primary wings, while good distance shooters, are not classic producers, nor can Simmons do much in that capacity for himself on the backcourt. Creativity is the product of energy, and it dies in stagnation. At his worst, Harris can be a ball-stopper in that regard. When he is decisive, he can get good looks from a dribble or two, and take advantage of his size in the mismatch - something he emphasized as a goal in Game 7. The Sixers should be wary of going too heavy, but Harris remains their most versatile 1-through-4. If he is selectively aggressive on Sunday, the Sixers could take advantage of Atlanta's assists.
The Sixers took many years to process, while the Hawks completed their process rapidly. Neither current incarnation has progressed to the Eastern Conference finals, but a rebuild of these will finally yield something worth celebrating on Sunday.