NBA Playoff Preview: Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards Game 4

The Philadelphia 76ers look to complete the sweep against the Washington Wizards; with Game 4 set to tip-off tonight at 7:00 pm ET. Philadelphia is coming into the Memorial Day matchup leading the series 3-0, and will advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals with a win over Washington today.

The 76ers have led the Wizards in eight out of the twelve quarters played so far; which reflects how dominate Philadelphia has been in the first round. Washington has failed to matchup with Philadelphia’s size, which has allowed MVP candidate Joel Embiid to play the best playoff basketball of his career. Embiid is averaging 30.6 points per game, while shooting 55% from behind the arc in the series, and also scored a playoff career high 36 points, in a 132-103 blowout win in Game 3. Point Guard/Forward Ben Simmons has also picked apart the Wizards atrocious defense and is averaging 11 assists per game in the series.

Philadelphia has played like the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but Wizards Head Coach Scott Brooks electing to not double team Embiid, has allowed the big man to basically score at will. When asked about Washington’s defensive strategy, Embiid said “It was one-on-one, and I wanted to take advantage of it. I guess that’s on them to make that choice. It’s hard to stop me if you send a double-team or not” (via espn.com).

Russell Westbrook battled through a sprained ankle in Game 3 to record another triple-double, but the veteran is listed as questionable for Game 4. If Westbrook doesn’t play, then virtually all of the offensive burden will fall onto Bradley Beal’s shoulders. Beal came in second to Steph Curry for the NBA regular season scoring title, but has shot an abysmal 3 for 20 from long range against the 76ers. As a team the Wizards are shooting 23.4% from deep this series, and with a lack of shooters combined with personnel mismatches; it is highly likely this will be the last game of the season for the Washington Wizards.

Final Score

Philadelphia 76ers: 115

Washington Wizards: 97