The details surrounding the epic meltdown that the Sixers experienced against Atlanta are hilarious and flat out hard to believe. Some of the stats that we’re about to go through are just staggering.
Let me explain exactly what I mean by that. What up everybody, my name is Stefan and this is Heat Check. Let’s get into it.
We saw the Hawks come back from being down 26 points in the third quarter. But how many of you noticed that Philly only had 2 guys make a field goal for the entire second half? Wait what?!
In 24 minutes, the only guys that made a basket for the home team were Seth Curry and Joel Embiid.
Curry pretty much carried them offensively down the stretch shooting 9 for 12 from the field ending with 36 points overall, a great game for him.
But just take a look at this: After dominating the first half going 9 for 11, Embiid decided that he wouldn’t punish Atlanta anymore, so compare the shooting charts from the 2 halves, and you see all of this activity in the paint, opposed to these random shots from downtown, the long 2’s, and you understand the modest 3 for 9 in the second half.
I talked about this exact issue with him just 2 videos ago. These are unguardable. He cannot be stopped if he decides to get a basket down low.
Why would you want to bail the defense out and give the opposing team a chance by jacking up low percentage shots like these? At this point it’s mind boggling how he can be so aggressive and in the blink of an eye completely change his attitude.
Anyway, speaking of being aggressive, after losing the last game, Ben Simmons talked about how he needed to step up and change his approach.
BEN SIMMONS INTERVIEW
Well, he followed his 11 points from game 4 with 8 points in game 5, so yeah I guess that whole thing about being more aggressive went out the window.
And Atlanta really made his time on the court miserable. They employed the hack-a-Ben strategy and it worked out perfectly for them. Simmons shot 4 for 14 from the foul line. 4 for 14.
Honestly it was tough to watch him knowing he would get fouled and then take the long walk to the line. At one point when he finally made one, the camera showed a fan encouraging him and coaching him how to continue on with his hot streak. And here’s a quick spoiler for you if you didn’t watch the game: The streak ended right there, as Ben missed the second free throw.
Want some wild numbers and stats? Check this out:
Ben Simmons became the first guard in NBA history to miss 10 free throws in a playoff game.
And look at this list for the worst free throw percentage by a player in a single playoff run:
Number 1 you got Ben Wallace with 27.3% during the Pistons ‘06 playoff push.
Then just behind him in second it’s Simmons with 32.8% that he’s shooting in this postseason.
Maaan 32.8 that’s rough.
Now I feel like this could carry over to the next game as well, since the Hawks clearly saw that this strategy is working and they will definitely try it out again.
Ben could definitely be hurt psychologically since now he expects it as well, and will always have it in the back of his mind.
Remember this moment from yesterday’s video, right?
BARKLEY GIANNIS MOMENT
So let’s keep an eye on this and see how he responds in game 6.
Obviously the talent is there overall. The Sixers are covered at every position. The defense is superb, but there are a lot of things missing obviously and the consistency isn’t there for a team that wants to compete for a championship.
And I know that this video is about the struggles for Philly, but I have to mention the phenomenal effort by the Hawks, specifically by Lou Will and Trae Young.
Lou initially sparked this epic comeback scoring 13 out of his 15 points in the 4th quarter.
Constantly putting the pressure on the defense and hitting shot after shot, they started to cut into the lead little by little.
So as they got within striking distance, you know exactly who took over. Ice Trae scored 13 points in the last 5 minutes of the game. Talk about being clutch and taking over with the game on the line.
And I love the fact that he actually drilled into the defense and scored the majority of these points right in the paint.
So now all of a sudden the Atlanta Hawks go on their home court with an opportunity to win this series. I don’t think anyone expected that.
Whatever happens, they’ve certainly earned the respect of NBA viewers and we’ll see how things play out for them.
That’s it for now, subscribe and talk to you in the next one. Peace out.