While being halfway to elimination is intimidating, the 76ers are right there with the Knicks. This series has been competitive and could easily be tied if just a few things broke differently. Of course, hypotheticals don’t dictate the results. The Sixers have to sharpen up and make the right tweaks to defend their home court and beat the Knicks in Game 3.

76ers adjustments to make

Improve transition defense

Since the 76ers have done a great job of knocking Jalen Brunson off his game, the Knicks’ halfcourt offense in both games so far has been nothing special, posting offensive ratings of 76.5 in Game 1 and 96.4 in Game 2, per Cleaning the Glass. The Sixers posted 98.8 in both games. New York has made up that deficit in transition, running more than Philly and scoring very efficiently on those looks.

Through two games, the Knicks have shot 13-27 with an effective field-goal percentage of 61.1 on shots with 22 to 18 seconds left on the shot clock. The Sixers are 10-17 with an effective eFG percentage of 67.6. New York has doubled the frequency at which Philly shoots threes in that situation while making half of those looks.

Josh Hart’s ridiculously hot three-point shooting has understandably garnered plenty of attention but that’s far from the only way he puts points on the scoreboard. The Knicks wing is big and determined enough to get where he wants when he pushes the ball up the floor, allowing him to score…

…or create open shots on the perimeter for teammates. Since the Sixers aren’t communicating on who to pick up, they all collapse around Hart. Whether he kicks it out or makes the pass that leads to the assists, his aggression is doing wonders for the Knicks early in the shot clock.

Not only does the Knicks’s success scoring in transition put points on the board for them but it limits how often the 76ers get cracks at the easier scoring opportunities. Philly cannot allow New York to dictate the pace so heavily.

Use more off-ball actions for Tyrese Maxey

The 76ers got two huge buckets from Maxey at the end of Game 2 that resulted from off-ball movement. He and Embiid used the chase action, where Maxey passes to Embiid and immediately chases the ball to get into a dribble handoff. That should be a more prevalent staple of the Sixers’ offense given the Knicks’ incapability to keep up with Maxey’s speed.

The Knicks have remained content to use OG Anunoby on Maxey despite the star guard having two great games to start the series. Doubling down on Maxey’s speed by sending him around screens and getting him running starts should help Philly do even better in the half-court. It would behoove the Sixers to get the ball to Maxey immediately after getting defensive rebounds to hunt any fast breaks that may be available.

New York could switch things up and go with Miles McBride, a quicker guard who could better keep up with Maxey and let Anunoby be an off-ball maniac. McBride taking Donte DiVincenzo’s spot in the starting lineup wouldn’t totally derail the offense given that McBride is a capable shooter who can handle the ball. Whether or not Tom Thibodeau chooses to make that switch, Philly must tap into Maxey’s strength as a catch-and-shoot maestro.

Kyle Lowry is a smart playmaker who should help set Maxey up for good shots. While his lack of burst off the dribble makes him easier to defend, which cuts into the passing windows that open up for him, he can still do enough to get Maxey going alongside Embiid. Nico Batum’s playmaking should come in handy, too.

When Embiid sits, Maxey will obviously have to initiate the offense a ton. Even when the big man is on the floor, Maxey is going to be handling the ball a lot. But the Sixers should make Maxey, their most explosive scorer, even more explosive by using him as an off-ball weapon.

Replace Buddy Hield with Cam Payne in the rotation 

There are several ways the 76ers can improve their rotation. There shouldn’t be any considerations about who has started or played in the rotation for a certain amount of time in the playoffs. The best-performing players deserve the most minutes and vice versa. But huge changes to the starting lineup or primary rotation don’t seem likely. One obvious change, though, is to get some new legs off the bench.

Buddy Hield’s shooting makes him a valuable part of the Sixers lineup in theory. But the shot isn’t falling for him right now — and worse, it’s hardly even going up. Hield isn’t setting fire to the nets from deep. Since he’s too limited elsewhere, he should not be penciled in for minutes.

De’Anthony Melton would be great to have right now because of his shooting, athleticism, and defense. He is seemingly on his way back but is also probably not ready for heavy minutes yet. Besides him, the best options to choose from are Cam Payne and Ricky Council IV. Nick Nurse hinted strongly at Payne playing in Game 2 but ended up not calling on him. That shouldn’t be the case in Game 3.

Payne is likely to get targeted by the Knicks’ offense as a smaller guard, though New York has done so with Hield anyway. At least Payne is more likely to provide value on defense on top of being a much better shot-creator. Payne is a confident shooter from deep on top of being quick and shifty, allowing him to shoot floaters or pull-up jumpers in the mid-range. He could give the Sixers the spark they need to support Embiid and Maxey.

The Sixers have not gotten enough on offense from the supporting cast of their two stars. Only one other player (Lowry) is averaging double-digit points per game. The Knicks have six (and one other player averaging 9.5). It was clear that Philly’s bread-and-butter is leaning on its two stars but not to this extent.

While Council does have the size, athleticism, and non-stop motor to help the Sixers against this Knicks team, he is still just a rookie with less than 300 minutes of on-court NBA experience. That shouldn’t disqualify him as an option for Nurse but it makes more sense to start off with Payne, who has played real minutes in each of the last three playoffs. KJ Martin also provides size and athletics, though he can’t do what Council does with the ball.

76ers tactics to keep

The Sixers may be down but they are very far from out in this series. There are parts of their game plan from previous games that they should look to keep doing.

Use Kelly Oubre Jr. to guard Jalen Brunson

Oubre has tallied nine stops so far this series, almost double more than the next-highest tally (five, done by multiple players). His defense has been instrumental in slowing Brunson down. The Sixers have switched on-ball screens for Brunson to make sure someone is always in front of him — which makes total sense — but they should still keep Oubre on him as the initial defender.

Since Oubre is so important on defense, he has to get back to being on his A-game on offense. Cutting along the baseline and taking the right spot-up triples are the keys to getting him effectively involved, though he would also be useful running breaks with Maxey. He’s going to earn a lot of minutes for his defense, so he has to at least carry his own weight on the other end, too.

Keeping fighting on the glass

The 76ers learned their lesson after getting smacked up and down the glass in Game 1, fighting harder in the rebounding battle. Up until the fourth quarter, the Sixers did a very nice job preventing the Knicks from racking up offensive rebounds.

The Knicks are unrelenting on the glass, so the Sixers must keep boxing out and crashing the boards with force rather than just watching the shot come off the rim. Nurse mentioned the possibility of playing an Embiid-Paul Reed frontcourt for Game 2 but didn’t turn to it. It should still be something he keeps in his back pocket, though it really comes down to finding someone to box out and making the necessary effort.