3 storylines to watch with Sixers back home for Game 5 vs. Hawks

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The Sixers blew an 18-point lead Monday night and allowed the Hawks to even the second-round series between the teams at 2-2.

They’re back in Philadelphia, though, and again can move to one win from the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. The implications of a loss would obviously be less pleasant. 

As has been the case for every game this series, Joel Embiid is questionable with a small right lateral meniscus tear. Sixers head coach Doc Rivers indicated Tuesday his concern about Embiid’s health hasn’t escalated after the MVP runner-up’s 4-for-20 night from the floor in Game 4.

“We wouldn’t put Joel out there if he couldn’t play,” Rivers said. “Obviously he’s not going to be exactly what he was all the time with the injury, but I’ll take what we have. So I have no concern.”

Trae Young is probable with right shoulder soreness.

Game 5 is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. on TNT. Sixers Pregame Live will start at 7 p.m. on NBCSP, and Sixers Postgame Live will air on NBCSP+ following the game. 

Here are three storylines to watch: 

No heroes needed 

Rivers on Monday thought the Sixers played too much “hero ball” in the second half of Game 4. In reviewing the film, he saw that as a rampant problem.

“The whole team,” he said. “I showed guys every single guy at some point standing with their hands up like, ‘Throw me the ball.’ Actually today, I showed all five guys at some point had that statue position. 

“Listen, it happens a lot of times because you want to win the game, and so each guy thinks he’s going to win the game. So it’s not a real selfish thing, but it’s selfish basketball. … It’s not like a guy was being selfish; he was trying to win the game. But we don’t need that. We need to do our jobs. We don’t need to do more than our jobs.”

Even with Embiid’s knee injury, the Sixers have appeared to possess more talent than the Hawks. Recording only six assists in another half would likely be costly, though. 

Searching for open-floor offense 

The Sixers in Game 4 forced a season-low four turnovers and, not coincidentally, scored just five fast-break points.

Their half-court offense struggles were conspicuous but the lack of relief was a problem, too. If the Sixers can at least force double-digit turnovers again in Game 5, it would go a long way. 

Though Embiid’s individual dominance has often saved the Sixers, they were a middling half-court team during the regular season. According to Cleaning the Glass, they ranked 14th in points per 100 half-court plays (97.1). The Sixers scored 91.1 points per 100 half-court plays on Monday. 

Sticking with same starters? 

Furkan Korkmaz started Game 4 in place of Danny Green, who’s out with a right calf strain, scoring 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting.

“I thought he was up and down,” Rivers said. “I thought he had some really good stretches. What I love about him is he’s a home run hitter. He’s going to take the shot when he gets it. You need guys like that in the playoffs, so that part I like. Overall, defensively, I thought he was actually very good. He held his ground. So yeah, he wasn’t bad at all.”

If Rivers had gone with Matisse Thybulle instead, Ben Simmons and Thybulle presumably would’ve guarded the Young-Bogdan Bogdanovic backcourt. Rivers put Seth Curry on Bogdanovic beginning in Game 3, though, and he thinks Curry has managed that matchup reasonably well. 

“We thought in both games, overall, Seth’s done pretty good on him,” Rivers said. “I think he had a big drive late that hurt us, if my memory serves me right. But other than that, I thought he did pretty well. I still think he got too many open looks, but that was more in transition.”

If Curry stays on Bogdanovic, having the Serbian guard screen for Young and putting pressure on Curry’s show-and-recover pick-and-roll defense is a tactic we’d expect Atlanta to use frequently. Bogdanovic had 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting when defended by Curry in Game 4, per the NBA’s tracking data

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