76ers most to blame for disappointing playoff series loss to Knicks

Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey just could not get anyone else from the Nick Nurse-led squad involved. The 76ers needed someone who could notch 20 more points to keep them afloat against this hard-nosed Knicks squad. Kelly Oubre was the closest that this squad had to that. The player on a one-year contract attempted an average of 10 field goals per night. Even at a 48% stroke from all three levels of scoring, he could only give an average of 12.4 points.

Even worse, the veterans that the 76ers acquired to do just that were not performing at all. Tobias Harris ran around and did a good cardiovascular exercise demonstration. But, that was not what his team signed up for. Aside from this, he only managed to contribute three assists and four rebounds. The fact that he went scoreless in a game where the 76ers lost with a 115 to 118 scoreline makes a big difference.

The same goes for Kyle Lowry. While he only played 13 minutes against the Knicks, he also could not do much for the 76ers offense. He too finished without scoring a point while just grabbing three assists and four rebounds. This is not what the 76ers got both of these players to do. They could have at least pitched in 10 points but their veteran acumen was just thrown out of the window when the Knicks defense got tight.

Knicks exploit a lot of their holes

In addition to the 76ers’ ballhandlers not being able to get the offense started, they also could not keep the ball safe. In the last two games of this NBA Playoffs series, they turned the ball over 25 times. Had they managed to get the ball away from the ruthless defenders, there would have been hope to push this series to seven games.

It was not just the offense that had problems. The 76ers’ guards did not even need to be hunted by Jalen Brunson. Everyone crumbled when the Knicks star got the ball. No one could defend him. This is why he notched a feat that only Michael Jordan has achieved by scoring an average of 34.4 points while shooting at an insane 41.9% clip from all three levels of scoring.