Wednesday’s Sixers disaster brings to mind those of the past. Consider, for instance, the night of May 21, 1982, when they entertained Boston in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Finals.
Philadelphia, holding a 3-2 series lead and looking to close things out, built a tenuous six-point halftime lead before watching the air come out of the balloon. No one could make a shot. Not Julius Erving, who finished 8-for-20 from the floor. Not Maurice Cheeks, who jacked it up an uncharacteristic 19 times, missing 13. Not even Andrew Toney (a.k.a., “The Boston Strangler”), who went 1-for-11.
The Celtics outscored the Sixers 46-27 in the half (including 27-11 in the fourth quarter) to win, 88-75, before a grumbling Spectrum crowd.
So it was back to Boston for Game Seven — and, it seemed, a repeat of the year before, when the Celtics dug out of a 3-1 hole to win the series (and, eventually, the title).
“There is a word for the Sixers’ situation,” Inquirer columnist Bill Lyon wrote. “Hopeless.”
Lyon, the ultimate stylist and the ultimate gentleman, is, sadly, no longer with us. Neither is his Inquirer colleague back then, beat writer George Shirk. But Shirk once told me that as the Sixers were riding the bus to Boston Garden for the Sunday-afternoon clincher, Erving took to discussing with his teammates places they could visit in Los Angeles during the Finals against the Lakers.
No less significant was the fact that Erving abutted Toney’s 34-point explosion with 29 of his own, and the Sixers won going away, 120-106. If you’ve seen the grainy YouTube videos, you’ve no doubt heard the Boston fans chanting “Beat L-A” in the closing minutes.
Which the Sixers did not.
But they went out and acquired Moses Malone and won it all the following year, the most recent title in franchise history.
The only time they’ve gotten close since then was in 2001, which calls to mind another sliding-door moment. Again it came in a Game Six, this one in Milwaukee. Once more the Sixers were up 3-2 in the series, but the Bucks raced to a 33-point lead early in the third quarter.
Time to fold the tent and get ready for Game Seven, right? Not so much. Earlier in that series Milwaukee coach George Karl had labelled the Sixers “a proud team,” and that was very much in evidence on this night. Still down 26 at the end of the third, they cut the gap to 10 with 5:14 left behind Allen Iverson (naturally), who finished the night with 46 points. While that would also prove to be the final margin, there seemed to be a carryover to the seventh game, which the Sixers won easily, as Iverson poured in 44.
So after Philadelphia frittered away a 26-point third-quarter lead in bowing to Atlanta in Game Five of their conference semifinal series on Wednesday night, it seems fair to ask: Who makes a stand, beginning in Friday night’s sixth game? Who says, “Enough”? Who leads the counterattack, as Erving and Toney did on that long-ago Sunday afternoon, or as Iverson did again and again during the run to the ‘01 Finals?
Ben Simmons, unable to make free throws and unwilling to assert himself on the offensive end, is a mess. Tobias Harris’ picture seems likely to wind up on the side of a milk carton, as has been the case in playoffs past. Seth Curry is playing well, but the most likely standard-bearer is Joel Embiid. Only problem is, he is once again hurting, and once again looks gassed late in games.
Man for man, they’re better than the Hawks. But Trae Young has shown some Iversonian tendencies in crunch time, whether fearlessly invading the lane, creating contact (as on that three-shot foul he drew from Matisse Thybulle late in Game Five) or knocking down big shots. (All of this despite a shoulder injury that would appear to be significant, given the Michelin Man-sized ice bag he wears on the bench when he rests.)
Atlanta has some shooters to array around him, and forward John Collins made one blue-collar play after another not only in the fifth game, but the previous one, in which Atlanta crawled out of an 18-point hole.
It’s significant to note that both Erving and Iverson attended Game Five. Woulda loved to know what they were thinking, but I have no problem envisioning what they would have done, were they in their heyday: They would have figured something out, and stopped the bleeding. Can anybody on the current roster do so? It’s an open question.