76ers in danger of having history repeat itself

The 76ers should be riding high with a 3-0 first-round lead. In NBA history, no team has lost a best-of-seven series when up 3-0. But Philadelphia knows better than most after last season that its series against Brooklyn might be far from over.

To begin the 2022 postseason, the Sixers jumped out to a 3-0 first-round lead against Toronto. Just as in this year's postseason, that series began with a 20-point Philadelphia win (121-101 this season; 131-111 in 2022). The Sixers have outscored the Nets by 37 points. Through three games last year, they outscored the Raptors by 38 points. 

And that's when things started to come off the rails.

Toronto rebounded to win the next two games, extending the series to six games. Philadelphia won, 4-2, but the extra games had a huge impact. Joel Embiid suffered a concussion and orbital fracture in the Sixers' Game 6 win, forcing him to miss the first two games of the conference semifinals against the Heat.

Philadelphia lost those games, and after leveling the series at two games apiece when Embiid returned, it dropped Games 5 and 6 and was bounced from the playoffs.

On Friday, news broke that Embiid (ankle) will miss Game 4 against Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported there's optimism within the Sixers organization that he could return next week, should the series continue past Saturday. Ideally, the team wouldn't need him that soon. 

Getting Embiid rested and ready for the second round — which could begin as early as Apr. 29 — is paramount to the team's success, and the best way to do that is to close out its series against the Nets in Game 4.

Per OddsChecker, Embiid's injury hasn't affected the betting markets. Philadelphia is a two-point favorite and -135 to finish the series in a sweep.

That's good for the Sixers because even with a 3-0 lead, Saturday's game is close to a must-win. Otherwise, Philadelphia could be going down the same path as last year, hoping for a different result.