The Philadelphia 76ers completed the job and beat the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the postseason after an incredible game at Scotiabank Arena. When many people thought the Raptors could tie the series 3-3 after being down 3-0, the Sixers made a statement and dominated Nick Nurse’s squad.
Now, they’re headed to Miami, where the Heat will wait for them. Jimmy Butler and co. easily got rid of Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, who looked nothing like the team that delighted everybody last season.
The challenge will be harder for both teams now, and we’re ready to see a big series between the Sixers and Heat. However, not everybody believes that Philly could get past Miami and make it to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since ‘the process’ started.
JJ Redick, a former Sixers player, recently explained why he doesn’t think Philadelphia can get past the Heat, despite having the best player in the series in MVP candidate Joel Embiid.
“No, they cannot,” said Redick on ESPN when asked if the Sixers could beat the Heat. “Look, I do think the 76ers have the best player in that series in Joel Embiid, but we were talking earlier about the Celtics and the Kevin Durant matchup, those same issues, the Sixers have that with Miami. You can tell [Embiid’s hand] was bothering him. He needs to get the MRI they need to know what is going on.”
Beating the Raptors when things looked wrong for them might have been the push the Sixers needed to face the rest of the postseason. However, the rival is bigger now, as the Heat finished the season with the best record in the East. Now Philly needs to make another statement after all these years of failure and especially after trading for James Harden a couple of months ago.
This series has everything to be entertaining, but it’s hard to disagree with Redick. We saw how the Heat shut down Trae Young and Erik Spoelstra can do the same with Embiid. Jimmy Butler will be healthy and ready to go in a series that will become personal for him after the Sixers dumped him in 2019.
