Sixers can take control of NBA playoff series against Raptors with a Game 4 win

Brett Brown and Tobias Harris downplayed the importance of the 76ers getting a win on Sunday in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Toronto Raptors.

But James Ennis III didn’t.

“This is a desperate game [on Sunday],” Ennis III, a reserve swingman, said.

A win in the 3:30 p.m. contest at the Wells Fargo Center (6ABC) would give the Sixers a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. A loss would even the series, 2-2, and give the Raptors momentum and homecourt advantage heading into Game 5 Tuesday at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Brown, the coach, and Harris, his standout power forward, are fully aware of how vital winning this matchup is. They probably just don’t want to say it publicly.

“Every game in the playoffs is a must-win,” Harris said. “Yes, so this one is the most important, because it is the most present, so that we have ...”

Harris was reminded that by going up 3-1 could enable the Sixers to put some doubt in the mind of the Raptors.

“You want it, I’ll tell you, yeah,” he said with a smile. “Like I said, every game is important. But if you want it, you got it. Every present game that we play, whether it’s Game 1, you go up Game 1; you are up 1-0. It’s the same type of mentality.”

He kept stressing that you have to stay locked in every game.

“But like you said, you can go up 3-1,” Harris said. “That’s a momentum boost for the team confidence-wise. Whereas the series is 2-2, it’s a little bit different.”

The Sixers could get a boost Sunday if Toronto power forward Pascal Siakam is unable to play. He is listed as doubtful with a right-calf contusion. Siakam may have suffered the injury when when he extended his right leg to trip Joel Embiid in the fourth quarter of Game 3. He left the game moments later and didn’t return. The Raptors standout told reporters Saturday he’s unsure when the injury occurred.

Regardless, Toronto could be in trouble if he’s unavailable.

Kawhi Leonard is averaging 37.7 points while shooting 67 percent in the series. Siakam is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 23.3 points on 55 percent shooting. Outside of the duo, the Raptors have struggled.

Kyle Lowry is their next leading scorer at 12 points and shooting just 35.1 percent. He’s made just 2 of 14 three-pointers.

Danny Green (7.7 points), Marc Gasol (6.7) and reserve Serge Ibaka (4.3) follow Lowry.

The Sixers are taking a believe-it-when-we-see-it approach to Siakam’s injury status. They know first-hand that injury reports can be a part of gamesmanship in the postseason. Embiid has played twice this postseason after being listed as doubtful.

This matchup, like most playoff series, will come down to adjustments.

In Games 2 and 3, the Sixers have made better adjustments leading to the 2-1 advantage. They played well offensively and defensively in Game 3′s 116-95 victory. So the Raptors are the ones with the biggest adjustments to make.

The Sixers just have to be prepared for what Toronto and head coach Nick Nurse are going to do. So Brown and his staff have been trying to forecast what the Raptors will do.

He broke it down to three areas. The first area, according to Brown, has to do with the Raptors possibly changing the individual matchups. The second involved Toronto possibly changing or shrinking its rotation. And third, will the Raptors change their defensive scheme in regards to defending Jimmy Butler or Embiid?

Nurse suggested that his small lineup, which includes Lowry (6-foot-1) and reserve guards Fred VanVleet (6-0) and Norman Powell (6-4), could disappear. They were no match for the bigger Sixers lineups.

Nurse could opt to play Leonard more than his series average of 38.9 minutes. The Raptors lose a lot when he’s out of the game. They could also opt to put 6-7 guard Patrick McCaw in the rotation.

But Brown said he doesn’t think Game 4 is any bigger than any other series game just because a victory would give the Sixers a 3-1 advantage.

“Each game we can almost tell a similar story,” he said. “It’s true. ... They all have a tremendous level of importance. We are going into this game thinking like that.”