The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in a bit of a pickle, tasked with preventing the Boston Celtics from taking a 3-1 series lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal matchup Sunday in Game 4.
After back-to-back losses following a stunning Game 1 win over the Celtics in Boston, the 76ers could position a do-or-die Game 5 Tuesday night at TD Garden, making Game 4 a crucial contest for Philadelphia. Especially considering Joel Embiid's return hasn't proved to be enough and James Harden's playoff switch has been turned off by Boston's defense.
But 76ers head coach Doc Rivers needs no reminder of the stakes involved heading into Sunday, jokingly taking a shot at a reporter when asked about Philadelphia's required urgency before both sides squared off at Wells Fargo Center.
"Do I really need to answer that question?" Rivers told reporters, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. "You worked on that for 48 hours and that's what you came up with? Whatever high is, the answer is high."
The 76ers also haven't done their part in defending their home floor in recent years, more specifically against the Celtics.
Philadelphia dropped four of its last five home playoff games against Boston. Therefore as Rivers expressed in good humor, urgency is an understatement on Philadelphia's end.
With that being said, the C's have an opportunity to apply some significant series pressure on the Sixers and take control in the driver's seat with a Game 4 victory.
