National Basketball Association

Do Joel Embiid and the Sixers have a ceiling?

Published Apr. 19, 2022 7:29 p.m. ET

Joel Embiid has made hearty meals of the Raptors' defense through Games 1 and 2 of the Sixers' first-round series against Toronto.

And despite Nick Nurse and the Raptors' ploy to increase their physicality on the NBA's scoring leader, after he pounded them to the tune of 19 points and 15 boards in Game 1, Embiid increased his scoring production in Game 2, blasting his opponent for 31 points and 11 boards in 37 minutes of game action.

And in the MVP candidate's mind, Nurse's hard-nosed ethos was ineffective in slowing him.

"He's a great coach," Embiid said of Nurse, who made postgame headlines Saturday for his disdain of the officiating crew in Toronto's 131-111 Game 1 loss.

"If you're going to triple-team somebody all game, they are bound to get to the free throw line, or if you're going to push them off and try to hold them and all that stuff, they're bound to get to the free-throw line. I feel like every foul was legit and probably [there] should have been more, honestly."

Nurse responded to Embiid's thoughts after Game 2.

"[Embiid] was saying to me that, ‘I’m going to keep making all the free throws if you keep fouling," Nurse said regarding the exchange.

"And I said, ‘Well, you might have to.’ But a good player, man. I got a lot of respect for him. He’s certainly playing great here."

Nurse's complaints did little to change the final outcomes in the first two games, and the Raptors are in a world of trouble as they trek back to Canada for Games 3 and 4.

According to Colin Cowherd, that trouble is unsolvable, and Philly is on the brink of breaking out the brooms. But Cowherd took his evaluation of the team a step further, elaborating that while several Eastern Conference titans will top out at some point, the 76ers don't have a feasible ceiling.

"Boston, Miami, a lot of teams have a ceiling, he said Tuesday on "The Herd."

"As I watch this series, it makes me think Daryl Morey — I’m not saying he took Brooklyn for a ride — but they don't miss Andre Drummond, or Seth Curry. Ben Simmons is still not playing. Harden's a facilitator in the series, and they've had two blowout wins. Brooklyn's getting nothing out of it: You can't have Drummond on the floor late, Curry has not delivered in the playoffs, and Simmons is not playing. Harden is a smart enough player to understand that Maxey is a scorer. I thought Philadelphia won the trade, and they have no ceiling."

The Sixers received surprising contributions from a number of their less-heralded ballers in their first two outings, including Tyrese Maxey, who burst onto the stat sheet with a dazzling 38-point gem in his first playoff game.

Tobias Harris, who has struggled since Harden's arrival, was also efficient, dropping 26 in Game 1 and 20 in Game 2 on a pair of plus-50% shooting nights.

But Harden, who shot 6-for-17 in Game 1, and a paltry 3-for-9 in Game 2, has looked shaky from a scoring perspective.

And his meager outputs have both Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe worried about Philly's future formidability.

"If James Harden continues to play like this, the Philadelphia 76ers are going home," Sharpe said Tuesday on "Undisputed."

" … If you're going to go places, it has to be Harden and Embiid, not Maxey and Embiid," Bayless concurred.

Unless Nurse can nurse his team back from the sting of their two defeats, Toronto might meet its demise soon.

But can Philly's success sustain in the long run?