How to Watch Sixers at Wizards Game 4: Live Stream, Storylines and More

Everything you need to know as Sixers look to sweep Wizards originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

If the Sixers win Monday night, they’ll advance to the second round of the playoffs and wait to see whether the Hawks or Knicks are up next. Atlanta holds a 3-1 lead after a blowout Game 4 win.

If they lose, the team will head home to play Game 5 in front of a full-capacity Wells Fargo Center crowd. 

Here are the essentials for Game 4: 

• When: 7 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 6:15 p.m. 
• Where: Capital One Arena 
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia 
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the MyTeams app 

And here are three storylines to watch: 

High standards 

A 29-point road playoff victory over a team desperate for a win is undoubtedly impressive.

Joel Embiid, however, thinks the Sixers can improve upon their Game 3 performance. 

“We shot (58.6) percent. We shot (51.5) percent from three. If you ask me, yes, there’s a higher level, way higher, where you could shoot 100 percent from the field and 100 percent from three and make all your free throws,” he said Saturday. “So we can always get better. This is not it. I thought we had a few turnovers that we need to correct. We’ve got to make our free throws. We’ve got to rebound the ball better. There’s always a higher level that we can get to, so I’m excited to just stay focused and keep it going.”

Embiid had a playoff career-high 36 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Perhaps the Wizards will go back to sending more double teams his way, though it’s apparent they’re justifiably concerned about conceding open shots to the players around Embiid. 

Focusing on first and second units 

Head coach Doc Rivers mentioned Saturday that the Sixers have been practicing a lot with their starters only and their second unit only in the last 10 days. At least with the starters, he’s very pleased with how that’s worked. 

Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Danny Green, Tobias Harris and Embiid have a 150.4 offensive rating and plus-45.0 net rating outside of garbage time in the series, according to Cleaning the Glass. That’s the best of any lineup with at least 100 possessions (slightly better than the Nets’ starters) and incredible postseason production, even if it’s almost certainly not sustainable.

While the Sixers’ rotation has included 11 players and featured all-bench lineups in each of the first three games, does Rivers think he’ll play four or five bench players simultaneously down the line? Asked Sunday whether that’s part of the motivation behind the Sixers’ practice approach, he indicated he’s seeking maximum flexibility. 

“Yeah. And also just continuity,” he said. “And what we’re doing is reversing a lot. There’s times with the second unit that we run all the first-unit sets, because you don’t know which guy will be in. So we’re preparing for both.

“It’s really nothing to do with five guys playing together. It’s more each group of guys knowing the group of guys’ sets that they’re on the floor with, and the continuity of it, and what we’re looking for. That’s gone a long way for us so far.”

Looking to close it out quickly 

No Sixer has played more than Harris’ 32 Game 3 minutes in either of the previous two games. 

The team’s injury report is empty for Game 4. Russell Westbrook (right ankle sprain) and Ish Smith (left groin strain) were listed Sunday night as questionable. Westbrook played through his ankle injury to post a 26-point triple-double Saturday, so it would qualify as a surprise if he was unavailable. 

The Sixers, meanwhile, were well-rested heading into this series and have remained in good shape physically. However, especially given how well things have gone after their post-regular season week without games, they wouldn’t mind some time to heal up minor injuries and practice before Round 2. 

“That would be incredible,” Simmons said with a laugh. “Obviously we want to do that. We want to get the sweep so we can get some rest. But this is a tough team. You never know what they’re going to do every night, especially with (Bradley) Beal and Westbrook. They’re relentless. They’re going to keep attacking and keep going, so we’ve got to come prepared on Monday.”

More on Sixers-Wizards 

Embiid credits Rivers for riding him when he's rolling

Green explains how Simmons' game reminds him of Lowry's 

Brooks says Embiid is NBA's most skilled center since Olajuwon

3 observations after Embiid scores 36 points, Sixers pick up emphatic Game 3 win