By 7:10 p.m. — assuming the weather holds up in Atlanta — the Sixers, Flyers and Phillies will be playing simultaneously in games that all three need to win.
Bounce back in the bubble?
The Sixers are in an unpleasant 2-0 deficit in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics. Game 3 against the C's is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., and even though the 76ers aren’t facing elimination, a loss will put them on the brink of exiting the NBA’s Disney campus.
In other words, Brett Brown’s Sixers must win Friday night, because having to come back to 3-0 is somewhere between extremely difficult and sort of impossible — if you’re a pessimist.
Brown is trying to remain optimistic.
“There is a spirit that can’t be dented,” Brown said Thursday. “It’s not always about 'We better come up on Kemba (Walker) on pick-and-rolls,' or 'Let’s get Tobias (Harris) in open court.'
“And I think that everybody’s got a breaking point. And I feel like — for me — the thing that I’m leaning on the most is: There is enough talent, there is enough character, there are enough positive things to find a way to win.”
Brown thinks there must be “a genuine belief.” He explained how that comes in a variety of ways — whether it’s Joel Embiid leading by example, Al Horford sharing past playoff experiences, Tobias Harris growing as a leader, Matisse Thybulle giving a rookie’s perspective, or Shake Milton using his story of advancing from the G-League to an NBA starting lineup in postseason games.
“I think it’s gonna come from different voices. There is nobody in that locker room that is a kick-a-chair, swing-a-towel, flip-a-desk type of guy. And that’s not a bad thing. We’re all wired differently.”
April 22, 2012, was a long time ago. That’s the last time the Flyers won a playoff series.
It’s the longest drought in franchise history without winning a series.
They couldn’t capitalize on their opportunity to advance to the second round Wednesday, but tonight’s Game 6 against the Montreal Canadiens is another chance.
Unfortunately for them, they’re already facing some adversity going into this game.
While the league accepted Niskanen’s argument that he wasn’t going for Gallagher’s head, it noted how the 33-year-old was intentionally attempting to hit Gallagher’s upper body and send him to the ice.
“What causes this play to rise to the level of supplemental discipline, is the force of the blow and the fact that the original intent of the play was to deliver a forceful stick foul to the upper body of an opponent,” the narrator in the league’s video explanation of the punishment explained.
The league also acknowledged that Gallagher’s sudden movement contributed to him getting hit in the face, but that wasn’t going to prevent Niskanen from being disciplined.
“Players are responsible for their stick at all times, and when a player attempts to intentionally use his stick to deliver a blow to an opponent, he cannot necessarily be excused from responsibility when the blow recklessly lands in an unintended area.”
Before Thursday’s ruling, Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault defended Niskanen.
The Phillies' 10-game road trip is off to a 1-3 start. Thursday was particularly tough for the Phils because they were swept by the Toronto Blue Jays in their double header in Buffalo 3-2, then 9-8.
Toronto erased deficits in both games, the latter 7-0 — thanks in large part to a seven-run sixth inning in which Phillies infielders Scott Kingery and Didi Gregorius committed costly errors, and the bullpen kept struggling.
Not to mention, after Phils scored seven runs in the top of the first inning, they went without a hit until the seventh and final frame as they were trying to catchup from the two-run hole they put themselves in with their poor pitching and other blunders.
“It’s frustrating, really frustrating,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “We had a chance to win two games. We lost leads in both games late, and those are frustrating, but you gotta turn the page.”
Turning the page is a positive philosophy for the Phils skipper who has a bullpen that is struggling at historic proportions through the first 21 games of the season.
Between the two losses on Thursday, the pen allowed seven runs — four of which were unearned because of fielding mistakes. However, while the relievers aren’t the only ones at fault — they’re grabbing the headlines.
“We got to get it done with the guys that we have right now,” Girardi said. “That’s the bottom line because that’s who’s in the clubhouse.”
The trade deadline is Aug. 31. While this season is unlike any other, making the trade market unpredictable, it certainly wouldn’t hurt General Manager Matt Klentak to find ways to improve a bullpen that consistently struggles, with very few positive moments to look back on.
“That’s Matt’s job, and people above me. So my job is to manage the players that they give me and to get the best out of them, so I will continue to try to do that.”
Luckily for Girardi, his job description also includes handing the ball to ace Aaron Nola every five days. Nola’s turn in the rotation is tonight against Atlanta’s Max Fried.
Nola is 2-1 this season with a 2.05 ERA. Fried is 3-0 with a 1.24 ERA. It’s an excellent pitching matchup. For the Phils' sake, hopefully Nola goes the distance — because any use of the bullpen will likely cause Philadelphia sports fans to put more of their attention on the two critical playoff games that are taking place on other parts of the TV guide.