PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Saturday brings the start of the NBA Playoffs. The Philadelphia 76ers begin the postseason part of the chase for their first world championship since 1983 in the last Sixers home game without an indoor mask requirement in the city, at least for a while.
Tonight at 6 p.m., the Sixers play the first game of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Toronto Raptors at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philly.
However, this will be the last Sixers game where the expected 21,000 fans can cheer their team on maskless before the re-implementation of the city’s COVID-19 indoor mask mandate. So far, Philadelphia is the only major city in America to bring back such a mask mandate in recent weeks.
Monday night’s second game of the best-of-seven series, which starts at 7:30 p.m., will come on the first day of the reinstated mandate.
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The Raptors took three out of four games from the Sixers in the regular season, with a 2-1 record over the Sixers in matchups where MVP candidate Joel Embiid played. He averaged 29 points per game in the three contests.
Embiid has been pushing his teammates in practice to be at their best for the second season.
“I’m not here to worry about people’s feelings. I want to win,” said Embiid. “To be able to win, I need everybody and I need to challenge them.”
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10-time NBA All-Star James Harden made only one of eight three-pointers in the two games he played as a Sixer against Toronto, both losses. He also has never won an NBA title, but he said he doesn’t feel the pressure of the moment.
“Pressure? Nah. I feel good. I’m ready to hoop,” said Harden, who came to Philadelphia from Brooklyn in the Ben Simmons trade. “Nothing to it.”
SportsRadio WIP host Jon Johnson said Harden will need to play better than he did at the end of the regular season for the team to advance. His field goal percentage in Philly this year, 40.2%, is far below his 47.1% clip for the 2020-21 regular season.
"What we are seeing, to this point, is a player who is not as speedy as he was, which is making it easier to defend," said Johnson.
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The status of Mattise Thybulle has become a complication for the Sixers. He is not fully vaccinated and won’t be allowed to play in Toronto for the third, fourth, and — if necessary — sixth games of the series due to Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement for travelers entering the country.
“The Sixers, being the most shallow of all the playoff teams, this becomes a big factor," said Johnson, who added that the Raptors excel on the boards.
“Toronto is the best rebounding team in the NBA. They’re very good, which is an aspect of the game the Sixers struggle at, so that’s going to be a challenge.”
To Johnson, the series ultimately comes down to three key men who have plenty to prove in the playoffs: Joel Embiid, James Harden and coach Doc Rivers.
“If they are not at their best, the Sixers are going to lose to the Toronto Raptors.”
All those factors equate to concern amidst realistic hope for Sixers fans who are anticipating up to two months of playoff basketball in the pursuit of the franchise’s fourth NBA title, and its third in Philly.
“I think there’s a cautious optimism with this year’s playoffs,” said Darren Nowicki of Shibe Vintage Sports, who has sold plenty of Sixers gear in anticipation of the postseason.
“As long as [Embiid] stays healthy, that’s all we need,” Sixers fan Bruce Reese told NBC10 as he took a break from his own pickup game of hoops.
“As long as Joel Embiid doesn’t get hurt, I feel like it’s our championship to lose.”
Jay Sorgi contributed to this report.
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