The Miami Heat failed to get the upper hand in the series after falling to the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 3, 128-108. Having regained the series lead, 2-1, the Sixers will now look to move a step closer into advancing to the next round. Will the Heat even it up again? Or will the Sixers put themselves on the verge of moving to the next level?
Joel Embiid is back, and it did not take him long to make huge impact to the Sixers. The Sixers unicorn big man returned to action Thursday after missing the first two games of the first round because of a head injury, and scored 23 points on 5-for-11 shooting with seven rebounds and three blocks. He was constantly fouled in the game, as there seems to be no way for Miami to stop him other than chopping his hands, but Embiid still made the Heat pay at the foul line, where he went 10-for-15. Philadelphia shot well from deep once again in Game 3, as the Sixers hit 18 3-pointers. So far in the series, they are making 14.3 3-pointers on 43.9 percent shooting. With Embiid attracting double teams, Sixers shooters had a field day chucking up long bombs with Dario Saric and Mario Belineli draining four 3-pointers each. The Sixers are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games.
Is Hassan Whiteside the next Roy Hibbert? It sure does look like it, as the Heat big man produced yet another pathetic performance in Game 3. Whiteside managed just five points in 13 minutes of action in Game 2, as he was put early in foul trouble. The Heat urgently needs Whiteside to perform, especially with Embiid back for the Sixers. So far in this series, Whiteside has only totaled 11 points and 12 rebounds. Miami shot the 3-ball well in Game 3, knocking down 16 treys, but the Heat should also limit Philly’s outside scorers. That’s why they’re going to need Whiteside do a better time defending Embiid, so that Miami will not need to send extra defenders to Embiid at the expense of leaving one man open for Philly. The Heat are 5-5 ATS in their last 10 home games.
