PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — With the Sixers in trouble after dropping two straight in their first-round playoff series against the Raptors, 76ers icon Charles Barkley predicts they will drop Game 6 Thursday night in Toronto, then come back to Philadelphia with the weight of the world on their shoulders for Game 7 on Saturday.
“There’s two types of close [games in a playoff series],” Barkley said on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” “One on the road and one at home. When you got a chance to close out at home, you better freaking do it. Because what’s happening now … they not gonna win Game 6 in Toronto.
“By the time they get to Game 7, [their] sphincters are gonna be so tight.”
Fellow NBA Hall of Famer and “Inside” host Shaquille O’Neal responded by saying Game 6 is a “must-win.” It absolutely must be a must-win for the Raptors, as the Sixers still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2. However, Toronto has all the momentum, and if they win Thursday at Scotiabank Arena, that will thrust them forward in a three-all series heading to a potentially decisive Game 7 Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Game 5 was a disappointing 103-88 loss for the Sixers, who also failed to close the series this past Saturday in Game 4 at Toronto.
“There’s two things you cannot have in a close-out game,” said O’Neal, who thinks the 76ers will get blown out in Game 6, “a lack of focus and a lack of energy. [The Sixers] are playing too cool right now.”
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There won’t be anything cool for the Sixers if they fail to close the Raptors out a third time in a row later this week.
“I blame Joel [Embiid] and James [Harden],” Barkley said after the Game 5 loss. “Joel has played pretty good. James hasn’t played good at all. … We brought James in [from Brooklyn] to get us to the next round, and he has not delivered.
“He’s the guy who’s letting the Sixers down right now. Plain and simple.”
Harden scored only 15 points in Game 5 on 4-of-11 from the floor with five turnovers, while Embiid played with his injured right thumb.