Nba playoff, Miami dominates Philadelphia without Embiid and makes its race-1

Miami dominates the 2nd half and takes home the 1-0 in the series against Philadelphia, winning Game 1 at the FTX Arena for 106-92. Two heavy absences on each side, Kyle Lowry for the hosts and Joel Embiid for the Sixers, who affected the game in an extremely different way. Without the Cameroonian center, Philadelphia really felt like a shadow of itself. Miami, on the other hand, found in the duo Adebayo-Herro (49 points in two) the decisive weapon to attack the defense of coach Doc Rivers and generate a winning basketball. “They are the playoffs. It’s only a first win and we need three more, ”said the Heat center post-race.

YOU LOVE ME

–

“Our attack got us in trouble in the 2nd quarter. Then we were good at being more organized in the 2nd half ”. In the press conference, Erik Spoelstra highlighted the merits of him, excellent for quality and attitude after the break, but in doing so he also focused on the importance of the 48-minute performance, especially decisive in the playoff matches. You can never have a drop in concentration or intensity. Because in the end his Miami Heat dominated this match and only a bad 2nd quarter final managed in some way to legitimize the efforts of the Sixers, who appeared from the duo ball far from the necessary competitive standard. When Spoelstra’s team moves so much (and well) in attack, keeping every possession alive (15 offensive rebounds and 22 points generated by opponent turnover situations) and always playing in a physical and reactive way, it is very difficult to deal with. Jimmy Butler (15 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals) returned fairly well after missing Game 5 against Atlanta, and PJ Tucker did wonderful things in the defensive half, especially in scoring on Harden. But the series is, of course, still very long. Spoelstra also pointed out: “Doc is a great coach, a brilliant mind and surely he will find something to hurt us. We will make our adjustments. Even without Embiid, they have great firepower on offense with Harden, Maxey and Harris. It’s not easy to win in the playoffs. You have to face great teams and great players and you always have to find a way to win some possession. We were able to do it tonight ”.

ADEBAYO + HERRO

–

The pick and roll between Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo basketball-wise killed the Philadelphia defense throughout the game. The two Heat players complemented each other in the offensive half, looking for each other and finding each other by heart. Herro finished with 25 points, shooting 9/17 from the field, with 7 assists and 0 turnovers. Adebayo added 24 (8/10 shooting) with 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 34 ‘. Simply unspeakable. Spoelstra wanted to focus on the impact of Herro, the number one candidate for the sixth man of the year award, in the post game: “He is a hard worker, he is relentless. We need the quality of him. When you find increasingly tough teams, you need players like him, who know how to make the right choices and plays. For us offensively he is decisive when he plays at this pace. It was only a matter of time before this happened. He is a great player ”.

PHILLY

–

“I didn’t like how we moved the ball. The physicality of the match had a negative impact on us. We had one more dribble too many times and they were already there. We responded well in the 1st half and also at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. The rest of the game, from that moment on, I didn’t like it at all ”. Doc Rivers’ words perhaps simplify the concept but for sure they photograph the performance of his Sixers, canceled from the field in the 2nd half too easily. The absence of Joel Embiid was felt a lot, and that was to be expected, and with the exception of Tobias Harris (27 points), the best for his lead, none of the players performed as they should have. Harden and Maxey died after half-time and the bench was a half disaster (21 points). A few positive notes on the defensive level at the end of the 2nd quarter but few other signs of life for Philadelphia, which if he really wants to play it will have to change something in view of Game 2. DeAndre Jordan, for example, seems unable to stay on the pitch.

THE MATCH

–

Miami performs perfectly in attack, Philadelphia responds with defense and organization, remaining attached to the game. The start of race 1 sees the Heat run away several times towards the double-digit advantage and the guests always there to mend, one possession at a time, with extreme clarity. In the final of the 2nd quarter, however, Miami stops scoring and Philly produces a 19-7 run that brings her to the front for the first time in the game. At half-time, Sixers i closed at +1 (51-50). Miami clearly dominates the 2nd half (56-41), crushing the opponents with a pounding defense and a hyper balanced attack, also supported by offensive rebounds and second chance baskets. The Heat also find the maximum advantage 6 ‘from the siren (+21) but Philadelphia, exhausted and unmotivated, is already in the lead in Game 2.

You love me: Herro 25 (9/17, 4/6 of three, 3/3 tl), Adebayo 24, Butler 15. Rebounds: Adebayo 12. Assist: Herro 7.

Philadelphia: Harris 27 (11/18, 1/4 of three, 4/5 tl), Maxey 19, Harden 16. Rebounds: Harden 9. Assists: Harden 5.