Philadelphia 76ers: How did Game 1 turn into a blowout?

The Philadelphia 76ers, down four at the half, outscored Miami by 31 points in the second half to win easily, 130-103. What happened in the second half that turned a very close game to a laugher in the fourth quarter?

A couple days ago, I broke down the Philadelphia 76ers-Miami Heat series by categories. Let’s review each category and see if we can determine how this series will trend.

STARTERS — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

Philadelphia’s starters played better, with J.J. Redick leading the way with 28 points, followed by Dario Saric’s 20 and Ben Simmons’ 17. Miami’s starters were for the most part ineffective.

BENCH — EVEN

Originally I thought Philadelphia’s bench outplayed Miami’s bench, but after checking statistics, Miami’s bench outscored Philly’s 60-54, with a large part due to Kelly Olynyk’s s 26 points. For Miami to win this series, their bench must have a greater contribution from more players and outplay the Philly bench, not just play them even.

COACHING — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

Brett Brown made two major adjustments at the half. First he started Ersan Ilyasova in place of Amir Johnson in third quarter, which sped Philly’s offensive pace and made them more efficient. The Sixers turned on their typical third quarter charm and out scored Miami 34-18 to erase a four-point halftime deficit.

The other adjustment was keeping T.J. McConnell on the bench until the end when the game was no longer close. T.J. was a -10 in only five minutes in the first half and has trouble matching up when Miami runs its motion offense.

Erik Spoelstra on the other hand determined that Hassan Whiteside only warrants 12 minutes a game. Embiid can take his time healing.

PLAYING STYLE — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

The first half it looked like mirror images running the same type of motion offenses. The difference was in the second half Philadelphia picked it up defensively and Miami slowed down defensively. Redick and Belinelli had an easier time getting open and had more wide open looks. Miami on the other hand had every shot challenged and got nothing easy at the basket.

STATS — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

Philadelphia shot 64 percent from three, out rebounded Miami 50-45, Had 34 assists to only 10 turnovers, while Miami had 25 assist to 16 turnovers.

INTANGIBLES — ADVANTAGE SIXERS

The Wells Fargo center was electric. The only minor problem was Joel Embiid should have practiced on ringing the bell before the game.

FOR THE SIXERS TO WIN …

Amir Johnson did not just provide resistance against Hassan Whiteside, he outplayed him. Dario Saric was a positive factor. Ben Simmons was not afraid to get fouled and shot very well from the foul line. J.J. Redick’s back looks to be in good shape and T.J.’s minutes were limited. Everything came up roses in Sixer Land (at least for one night).

Next: Good cop-bad cop on the Sixers making the Finals

NEXT GAME: Monday at 8 PM E.T.