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Philadelphia 76ers: 3 takeaways from Game 4 loss vs. Raptors

By James D. Tillman III

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 05: Jimmy Butler #23, Tobias Harris #33, Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers react against the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter of Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center on May 5, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Raptors defeated the 76ers 101-96. 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. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 05: Jimmy Butler #23, Tobias Harris #33, Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers react against the Toronto Raptors in the fourth quarter of Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center on May 5, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Raptors defeated the 76ers 101-96. 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. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

3. Illness prevents Joel Embiid from duplicating outstanding performance in Game 3

In the first two games of this series, Joel Embiid was relatively quiet. He scored a total of 28 points and shot 7-for-25 from the field.

In Game 3 though, Embiid had a great outing, to say the least. He poured in 33 points on 9-for-18 shooting, to go along with 10 boards, five rejections, three dimes and was a +31. His superb outing was a big reason why the Sixers were able to take a 2-1 lead.

However, there was some bad news on the health front for the Sixers big man even before the start of Game 4.

"“I got a text from him at 6:20 a.m. this morning telling me he didn’t really sleep all night, he really never felt this poorly and, ‘I wasn’t sure, coach, if I’m going to play.’ That’s how my day started,” Sixers coach Brett Brown told ESPN."

Although Embiid did suit up, he didn’t have quite the same impact as he did in Game 3. He did have eight rebounds, seven assists and the Sixers were a +17 with him on the floor. On the other side of the equation, Embiid scored just 11 points, with seven of them coming from the free throw line.

Even more to the point, he attempted just seven shots in 35 minutes of action. It didn’t help matters that Tobias Harris contributed 16 points but needed 23 attempts to produce that scoring output. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons also had a quiet night, finishing with just 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.

With two of their starters failing to come up with huge performances, the Sixers still lost by just five points. Bearing that in mind, if Embiid had not been battling an illness, Philadelphia could very well be up 3-1 instead of going back to Toronto tied at two games apiece.