After two losses at Madison Square Garden, the Sixers return home for the first time in over a week facing another two-game deficit in a best-of-seven series against one of their rivals. This time it’s a 2-0 hole against the New York Knicks, a series deficit Philly has never been able to dig out of in a best-of-seven in its history. But don’t let that feel like the Sixers are climbing Mount Everest as they attempt to pick themselves up off the mat.
In case you needed a reminder, Philadelphia’s comeback
against Boston in the first round was the first series victory from a 3-1 deficit in franchise history. It was the first time since 1982 that the Sixers eliminated the Celtics in the postseason, having lost seven consecutive series to Boston previously. The Celtics had been 32-0 in best-of-seven series when holding a 3-1 cushion. Whether you needed to read those facts or not, they were worth repeating. The Sixers just had their greatest playoff moment in a quarter century and that ought to earn some positive equity in the minds of its fans.
There are no moral victories in the playoffs, but Wednesday night’s effort in Game 2 should have Sixers fans feeling optimistic that they can fight back against the Knicks. Down Joel Embiid on the road, Philly went toe-to-toe with New York, a team that appears to be firing on all cylinders, for 40-45 minutes of regulation. The Sixers simply ran out of gas down the stretch and the Knicks escaped with a 108-102 victory.
There wasn’t much to nitpick in Game 1 as the Sixers just got steamrolled in a quick turnaround after last Saturday’s Game 7 in Boston in the first round. But by now, we’ve all heard the most common complaints about the Game 2 loss. Some say it was a Daryl Morey loss as the President of Basketball Operations opted to subtract instead of add three months ago at the trade deadline and Philly had a thinner bench as a result in a game it was already without Embiid. Others have pointed the finger at Tyrese Maxey. There’s reason to be upset with Maxey after he had a relatively pedestrian stat line by his standards and if he’s going to be the face of the franchise after Embiid, he’ll have to be better than he was in Game 2. On a lesser note, Nick Nurse not playing Dominick Barlow enough when Barlow clearly looked like the best option at center on a night sans Embiid has also been brought up.
There have even been questions about Embiid’s toughness and some have quickly resorted back to the common critiques of Embiid that we hear this time of year. Sixers fans, it’s time to move forward with confidence. Friday night will be the first time the team plays a game at home since completing the 3-1 comeback against Boston. Regardless of how many Knicks fans are in the building, Friday offers a chance for the Sixers fanbase to throw its full support behind a team that has undoubtedly earned it. Don’t let such a great moment from less than a week ago be erased from your memory so quickly. Don’t allow yourself to think that the Sixers only won the series against the Celtics because Boston’s three-point field goals weren’t dropping and Jayson Tatum didn’t play in Game 7.
I get it. It’s easy to think more about the extensive history of postseason disappointments that this franchise has provided us with than a good week-long stretch of basketball against the Celtics. But everyone owes it to the Sixers to get behind them and attempt to will them back into this series with New York. They certainly showed ample grit and fight in Game 2 and we should expect them to bring that same energy for the rest of the series.
Of course, the availability of Embiid looms large. We’ll see if New York wing OG Anunoby suits up on Friday night after suffering a hamstring injury in Game 2. Both Embiid and Anunoby were on their respective rosters two years ago when these two teams met one round earlier in the playoffs. Philadelphia lost the first two games in New York in that series as well. Embiid dropped 50 points in Game 3. The Sixers would go on to extend that series to a Game 6 at home, one that they ended up losing by three points, and the game was tied until Josh Hart buried a triple with 25 seconds remaining for the Knicks.
A strong argument can be made that both the Sixers and Knicks are better teams now than they were two years ago. But the point we’re getting at is, the Sixers were very close to forcing a decisive seventh game back at Madison Square Garden in 2024 after trailing 2-0 and 3-1 in that series. They haven’t bowed out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion since the Mother’s Day 2023 blowout loss in Boston.
So save me your “same old Sixers” takes and go support your team on Friday night on their home floor. Maybe have a little bit of faith that they can win a basketball game after seeing what they did in the first round. Should they get it done on Friday, a series can’t be any closer than 2-1 after three games. They’d be one home win in Game 4 away from making it a best-of-three at that point. The series isn’t over so don’t act like it is. If you didn’t learn that after watching the Celtics series, you never will.
