AFTER PHILADELPHIA FELL to the Heat on their home court in last year's playoffs, Embiid declared the 76ers needed something extra if they wanted to make a playoff run.
Specifically, he cited the player who had just helped the Heat beat him.
"Since I've been here, I'd be lying if I said that we've had those types of guys," Embiid said after that Game 6 defeat. "Nothing against what we have. It's just the truth.
"We never had [Heat forward] P.J. Tucker."
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After Philly's Game 4 thriller, however, Rivers summed it up rather succinctly.
"The biggest difference? There's a guy named P.J. Tucker on our team now."
Those thoughts were voiced five days ago when JoeMaz JoeMazzed and Philly beat Beans in OT. But that's two franchises in successive years that have lauded PJ as the Missing Link. And in G7 PJ Tucker single-handedly got the "76ers" the lead. Churlish of me then perhaps but facts are stubborn things.
Last year in the Eastern semi-finals Philadelphia, without PJ Tucker, fell to the "Heat", with PJ Tucker, on their home floor and were ousted from the playoffs by 4 games to 2. This year, with PJ, Philadelphia fell to the "Celtics" on the opponents' floor 4 games to 3 in the Eastern semi-finals and were utterly humiliated in the 7th game, losing by 24 in a game they trailed by 30. In G2, also in Boston, the "Sixers" were blown out by 34 points. In the 2022 playoffs the "Sixers" lost one game in Miami by 35; in another in Philly they won by 20. They didn't have a blowout win against Boston this series, their largest victory margin was 12. The "biggest difference" that having "PJ Tucker on our team now" meant to the Sixers: winning one more game in 2023 than in 2022. And now the team who lost PJ Tucker is going to the East finals and the "Sixers", who signed him, aren't. Math don't lie.