Philadelphia 76ers: 3 takeaways from Game 3 dominance vs. Raptors

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 2: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts during a game against the Toronto Raptors during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 2, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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2. All-around offensive production

With the acquisition of Tobias Harris at the deadline, the Sixers completed one of the most offensively gifted starting fives throughout the NBA. The lowest per game scorer of them all was Ben Simmons at 16.9 a night. There would undoubtedly be growing pains in getting everyone to sacrifice, but there was limitless potential for such a talented bunch.

Those endless possibilities came to light on Thursday night. All five starters scored in double figures, combining for 93 of Philly’s 116 points. These buckets were not a result of the stagnant your-turn-my-turn offense. The Sixers shared the ball all evening long, piling up 29 assists to just 13 turnovers.

These players are all talented individuals, each capable of going off for 20 points fairly easily. It’s when they come together, though, and operate as a collective unit and play off each other where they become hard to stop. There is no head for the defense to chop off and it makes Philly unpredictably dangerous.

The latter portion of the regular season was spent figuring out rotations and developing schemes to maximize everyone’s offensive abilities. In the playoffs, they’ve simplified everything down to just playing basketball. They don’t care about shots, only the final result. If that continues, Philly becomes nearly unstoppable at that end.