Inexcusable is the right word.
The whole world knew what the Raptors had done in Game 3 and 4 to stifle the 76ers offense, attack their porous defense and eliminate any transition. Game 3 we got lucky and stole one due to the Raptors bad play and an inspired shot by Embiid. We could have easily lost that game. In Game 4, our luck ran out and their approach fully exposed our weaknesses.
So what does Doc do for Game 5? Nothing that I could see. What did the players do differently? Nothing that I could see. They stayed with the same rotations. They continue to put Niang out there to get killed on the defensive end. They continue to have Embiid get the ball up top instead of down low. They continue to ignore the pick & rolls that won Games 1 and 2 and have Maxey or Harden settle for high difficulty shots or pass to Green or Harris for equally high difficulty shots.
It reminded me of the Flyers who take a lot of shots, but create very little pressure and high quality chances in front of the net. Everyone is skating around the periphery and allowing the defense to relax and force them into turnovers or meaningless shots. The 76ers are in that same state. They are content to shoot 3's despite them not falling, have given up going to the rim with any aggression or passion, have stopped moving to open up pass lanes and cuts and turn the ball over with increasing frequency.
They are also complaining about the refs far too much. The Raptors love that. The more they whine about the refs, the less they focus on the game and figuring out ways to beat this very beatable team that they beat to a pulp earlier in this series.
The players show their frustration by making stupid plays or fouls and Doc lets it go. They have clearly lost their confidence and Doc has no answers for restoring it even though he has got winning game tape from just days earlier. They had a very clear game plan for beating this team and it worked! Why is Doc and every player acting like they never saw this before?
This is what the Raptors did all year to their opponents including the 76ers. We've allowed them to reimpose their game. It is past time for us to reimpose ours. If the 76ers lose this series, not only will it set another mark of shame on the franchise already in possession of the league's worst record ever, but it should lead to a reckoning within the organization and changes in the coaching & roster at the very least.
