Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers stunned the Toronto Raptors by jumping out to a 3-0 series lead. Heading into Game 4, the Sixers looked poised to finish the sweep and show the Raptors that they were simply the better squad. Instead, however, the Raptors fought back in Game 4 and sent the series back to Philadelphia. For Game 5, the Sixers felt like they could close it out, but once again, they were thwarted by a Raptors squad that is looking to prove people wrong.
Now, the series is at 3-2 and the Raptors seem poised to become the first team to ever come back from down 0-3 to win a series. While Embiid has been putting in work for the Sixers, James Harden has been MIA, and last night, Embiid spoke out about the team's issues. As you can see, Embiid just wants Harden to be more aggressive, but he really needs Dov Rivers to step in and say something.
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“I mean, I’ve been saying all season since he got here, he needs to be aggressive and he needs to be himself," Embiid said. "That’s not really my job, that’s probably on coach to talk to him and tell him to take more shots. Especially if they’re going to be guarding me the way they’ve been guarding me. But that’s really not my job."
If the Sixers were to implode and lose this series, it would be a massive indictment on Rivers, Embiid, and especially Harden. Having said that, they have an opportunity to close out the series in Game 6. If they don't get it done, Game 7 is going to be one of the most pressure-packed games of the postseason, thus far.