76ers Are Failing In A Key Area Against The Knicks

The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves on the brink of elimination after losing Game 4 at home and going down 3-1 in their series against the New York Knicks.

The 76ers have struggled with the physicality and tenacity of the Knicks and that was on display in Game 4 as they got outworked in the paint and on the boards.

Not having a healthy Joel Embiid has put a serious burden on the rest of the Philadelphia roster to pick up the slack, and they’ve done poorly in the minutes he’s been on the bench.

Meanwhile, New York’s hard-nosed roster seems to relish any time they can get an offensive rebound and put-back to keep their pressure on.

Rebounding is one of the main keys to winning in the postseason, and so far the 76ers haven’t been able to earn that edge over the Knicks.

In fact, when it comes to offensive rebounding, Philadelphia is woefully behind New York, via StatMuse.

“After four games: 76ers: 36 offensive rebounds, 40 second chance points. Knicks: 61 offensive rebounds, 79 second chance points,” StatMuse tweeted.

After four games:

76ers:
36 offensive rebounds
40 second chance points

Knicks:
61 offensive rebounds
79 second chance points pic.twitter.com/ITfh1Nk4Li

— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 28, 2024

The combination of Isaiah Hartenstein, Josh Hart, and the rest of the Knicks frontcourt has been the difference in this series as they do everything they can to win the possession battle.

In low-scoring games like Game 4, controlling the number of possessions in the game is of the utmost importance and head coach Tom Thibodeau has done well to drill that concept into his team.

NEXT: 
Joel Embiid Had A Shocking Fourth Quarter In Game 4 Loss