CLEVELAND — It was a Saturday night in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and a Green Giant was crashing toward the Earth.
Joel Embiid is too big, too decorated, to be called the little guy. But his sudden re-emergence with the Philadelphia 76ers after two virtually lost seasons not only was a rock to the Boston Celtics’ collective temple, it has the rest of the NBA scratching its head in mild trepidation of what’s to come.
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“The Embiid story is the craziest NBA s— ever,” said one high-ranking official from a team still alive, who was granted anonymity to discuss the playoffs with the candor they deserve.
“This guy has been off the grid for months — how do you all of a sudden turn into Olajuwon after being out most of the season? The Sixers are insane … you gotta love it.”
There are four teams left in the East bracket, Philly being one. The Sixers took down the team all of us thought would be standing there in the East finals, against either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Detroit Pistons — two teams that did reach the conference semis, but were pushed to Game 7s by decided underdogs. And then there are the New York Knicks, who trailed the Atlanta Hawks 2-1 in a first-round series, only to beat them so badly in Game 6 that there will be pictures in history books.
Who is the favorite? I am not sure any of us are prepared to say.
“You’re like, cleansed,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said after his team escaped the first round by outlasting the Toronto Raptors in Game 7, 114-102.
This column starts in Cleveland because I’m covering this team in the playoffs until it loses and had a seat in the gym for all seven games with the Raptors. From the outside looking in, it seemed like the Cavs’ collection of stars was playing nowhere near its potential, allowing a young, depleted Raptors roster to push things to the point where one more 30-footer for birdie could’ve sunk them.
Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, after a ferocious start, receded. There were mental lapses and seemingly inexcusable losses. There were a bunch of Canadians in the building for Game 7 on Sunday in Cleveland, belting out “O Canada” and cheering heartily when the Raptors were up 10 in the first half. The way playoff ticketing works, Raptors fans got their hands on those duckets via the secondary market, meaning even Cleveland’s faithful was wondering if its team was up to the task.
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Finally, the Cavs showed a little heart, a little craziness. There were head butts and flagrant fouls and Jarrett Allen having the playoff game of his life in his first-ever Game 7 with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Mitchell and Harden weren’t terrible: They cut down on their turnovers, Mitchell scored 22 points on 9-of-20 shooting and Harden got to the foul line 13 times. But neither had that seismic impact they had in the first two games.
Not even the Cavs can say what their team identity is, but if it turns into something like the total package they showed in the second half of Game 7, things might work out for them.
“Internally, it’s different,” Atkinson said. “Not to be arrogant about it, but we’ve been in this league, we know how hard this league is. We knew the parity in the Eastern Conference especially. So it’s like, OK, kind of like business (as usual). No one was like, man, we should be killing (the Raptors). There was none of that. I think that speaks to the humility of the group, and the understanding and perspective of our group.”
No one left in the East made it through their first-round series without being asked some very difficult, humility-inducing questions.
Detroit
The Pistons, under former Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff, were the darlings of the East all season. Then they got into the playoffs against the Orlando Magic, who had to win a Play-In Tournament finale just to make it, and promptly lost. They were trailing 3-1 in the series and were down by 22 at halftime of Game 6. All the whispers that hung at the edges of Detroit’s great season grew so loud. No outside shooting. Nothing behind Cade Cunningham on offense. Bickerstaff’s fine regular-season coaching doesn’t hold up in the playoffs.
And then the Pistons held Orlando to 19 points in the second half of Game 6 and wiped them out on Sunday. Yes, Cunningham scored 32 in Game 7, but Tobias Harris was right behind him with 30 and the Pistons connected on 16 of their 33 3s. Would they have advanced had Orlando not lost Franz Wagner to a calf injury in the middle of the series?
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A fair question but a moot point. Wagner was sidelined, and the No. 1 seed is still alive, preparing to host the Cavs on Tuesday night.
“They’ve been phenomenal,” Mitchell said of Detroit, which won its first playoff series since 2008. “(Bickerstaff) has done a phenomenal job over there. They’re tough. They’re physical. … It’s going to be a tall task, just like (this series) was.”
Philadelphia
The Sixers suddenly look like the strongest No. 7 seed in recent memory. Embiid has played in just 57 games the last two seasons, and was out for the first three against Boston while recovering from an appendectomy. But when he returned, he left a mark. Embiid scored 30-plus in Games 5 and 7, added 12 boards in Game 7, and played with a swagger and tenacity not seen from him in years. Tyrese Maxey has filled out into a star, VJ Edgecombe plays fearlessly as a rookie, and Paul George appears to have benefited from his 25-game suspension for using a banned substance. He’s fresh, and that jumper is falling.
The Sixers were tested. They got destroyed in Game 1 and trailed in the series, 3-1, just like the Pistons. This was the first time in NBA history that two teams recovered from 3-1 deficits in the same round of the playoffs. Ten years ago, the Golden State Warriors fought back after being down 3-1 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conference finals, only to blow a 3-1 lead to Cleveland in the 2016 NBA Finals. Never before had two teams done it within the same two-week span.
Which means they — the Sixers and Pistons — are vulnerable after falling so far behind, so quickly, to first-round opponents.
New York
The Knicks are the only team left to have avoided a Game 7, and all the hand-wringing over them was done within their first three games against Atlanta. Jalen Brunson wasn’t executing in the clutch? Mikal Bridges was held scoreless in a game. Mike Brown’s rotation was questionable, and his seat was/is hot. Well, New York won Game 4 by 16, Game 5 by 29, and then set an NBA record by leading Atlanta by 47 at halftime of Game 6.
The Knicks haven’t been to a finals since 1999 and haven’t won a title since 1973. The Sixers have yet to reach a finals with Embiid, whose body has shown to be wearing down. The Process might not have much left, but it’s been a long time since things seemed to be processing so nicely in Philadelphia.
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Cleveland
If your take is that the Pistons are playing with house money over at Greektown casinos, keep in mind that they carry the burden of being the No. 1 seed. It can be a heavy, thorny crown. Just ask the Cavs, who wore it and bled to death in a gentleman’s sweep at the hands of Indiana in the second round last year.
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As for the Cavs, Mitchell hasn’t advanced past the second round in eight tries. Harden has never won a title despite reaching the playoffs in each of his 17 seasons.
“Winning Tuesday is all we can care about,” Mitchell said. “Don’t really care what else is going on.”
After an underwhelming series against Toronto (at least to us, anyway) all of Cleveland’s lofty goals are still in reach. There is no need for an autopsy.
The Cavs could be in the conference finals in two weeks.