Philly Stuns CSL, Eliminates Miami

[Marcos_Beck]

Philly Stuns CSL, Eliminates Miami

PHILADELPHIA, PA:The Sixers just pulled off a huge upset against Miami, eliminating the team with the best record in the league (by a wide margin) 4 games to 2. Philadelphia was able to steal the first game on the road and secured 3 home wins to finish the series against a very strong, well coached opponent.

In what was a weird, high scoring matchup for the most part, starting unit of Lonzo Ball, Marcos Louzada, Mikal Bridges, Brian Bowen and Moritz Wagner was as impressive as they have ever been together.

Ball averaged 16.5 points, 14.5 assists and two steals on 51% from the field, battling Dennis Smith Jr (28/6 on 51% shooting) every night at the point. Wagner was the leading scorer with 22.5 a night, and his excellent rebounding gave Miami all kinds of trouble on the glass.

Forward duo of Bowen and Bridges were given the task of defending Ben Simmons and Kyle Kuzma and did their best to limit Miami duo's damages. Simmons still got almost 26 a night, along with impressive rebounding and playmaking numbers, but shot "only" 47% from the field, a tier below his 51% during regular season. Bowen also had very respectable numbers of 17 points and 7 rebounds, plus almost 2 steals and 2 blocks a night, displaying immense defensive versatility. Mikal shot the usual 40% from deep and bothered Kuzma on the other side, limiting Miami's star to under 20 a game on 44% shooting.

But the most impressive player in Philly's display was Marcos Louzada. Trusted the 6th pick in 2026's draft, the guard suffered a severe injury that made him miss almost a year of play between his first two seasons. He came back in a rusty way, and when people started pointing him out as a bust, he turned it around beautifuly with much more confidence. As a result, in his first playoff games, he averaged 22 points per game and led Philly in scoring in 3 out of the 6 games. Quite a feature for the sophomore who still has a lot of untapped potential and room to grow as a scorer and playmaker.

Philly thanks Miami's GM Silogical for a great series, full of closely contested games and many tactical adjustments. And now, proceed to facing either New York or Milwaukee in the next round, as these two face off tomorrow for a wonderful game 7 in the Big Apple.

[KW]

I always thought there was no way Philly should've been as low as the 8 seed. You figured your team out at the right time it seems.

[GreenBear]

That was a hell of a series you put together. Not an easy feat taking down Miami. Well done

[bt]

Miami are a hell of a team and although a surprise, a shortened rotation in Philly makes for a very strong team. The starting lineup and key players are very talented so come the playoffs, you guys were always going to be a tough team to beat.

[thecoolestjedi]

Congrats, That Heat team looks like killers top to bottom, hoping to emulate you out West if I can lol.

[andrei]

Wow, only a week ago you were wondering even you even going to make the playoffs. Now you have eliminated the top team in the league. Shocking turnaround, well done Marcos

[Rizzo]

Quite the upset in terms of seeding but we have known for quite some time that Marcos is one of the top tacticians in this league so it's no surprise he was able to figure out a way to take down the Beast of the East.

[hardenwithnod]

This team has always looked good on paper, and it looks like the shortened rotation is finally clicking at the right time. Well done!

[Marcos_Beck]

Some preference work was key as well

Having Lonzo, Bowen and Louzada post up more, not because I wanted them to only shoot from the post, but because it would increase their usage and the engine asks for more balanced players. It prefers a player with 20 post / 20 mid / 60 threes rather than one with 0 / 0 / 100, no matter how good this player is at shooting from deep, if you mix it up he’ll be more efficient. Bowen is a great example, a great shooter who was shooting 36-37% from deep while at 40 corner / 45 atb / 15 post

When we increased his post preference, he came back to shoot 45% after the all star break on pretty much the same volume.

It’s a very post oriented engine because it helps to drive to the basket when you are close to the basket in the post, and that’s very helpful. Understanding that and fixing player’s preferences was one of the keys to making the team play better.

[blackice]

Great work Marcos, way to push forward against all odds and secure the series victory.

[Flaming Homer]

I always thought there was no way Philly should've been as low as the 8 seed. You figured your team out at the right time it seems.

+1

Always liked the talent on your team. But it seemed it somehow doesn't click ... and then the playoffs showed a different team! What a series.

[Andrewu91]

I was looking forward to our matchup. With Bowen at power forward, I would have put JJJ as 6th man and tried something new

Shame it wasn't meant to be. The CSL without me in the playoffs is equivalent to the NBA without the Lakers in the playoffs.

Good luck