The 76ers don't need a tweak. They need a personality transplant. Game 1 was a 137-98 demolition in which the Knicks shot 61.4% from the floor and Jalen Brunson hung 35 — 27 of them before halftime. Whatever Philly's plan was, New York shredded it by the second quarter.
Joel Embiid is on the injury report with the ankle but listed probable, which has been the running status quo all season. The bigger problem in Game 1 wasn't availability, it was usage — 25 minutes, 14 points, 3-for-11 from the floor. If he's playing, Philly needs to actually run the offense through him for stretches longer than a single possession before kicking it out and watching someone brick a 26-footer.
- Day-To-DayJoel Embiid C — Head coach Nick Nurse said Wednesday that Embiid will be day-to-day going forward with his ankle and hip injuries, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.com.
The market isn't buying a bounce-back, exactly, but it's not writing the Sixers off either. Knicks -7.5 is a reasonable Game 2 number for a home favorite that just won by 39, and the total sitting at 215.5 implies books expect a more normal-looking basketball game than the track meet New York played in the opener. DK splits are tilted home — 75% of spread handle, 66% of bets — which tracks with public sentiment after a blowout.
The path for Philly is simple to describe and hard to execute: Maxey and Paul George have to actually exist in this series. Both were ghosts in Game 1 while Brunson cooked and the Knicks' wing defense — Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson protecting the rim — turned the paint into a no-fly zone. If George doesn't show up as a secondary creator, this thing is over by the weekend.
Knicks are 1-0 in the series, riding one of the best shooting nights any team has ever produced in a playoff game, and back at the Garden where they've been brutal on opponents all postseason. Sixers are last-five 2-3 and were last seen getting embarrassed on national TV. The smart money says Game 2 is closer just by regression alone — but closer doesn't mean Philly wins it.