Embiid Believes Sixers Have Yet to Play Their Best Against Heat

The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a rough start when they kicked off their second-round series against the Miami Heat two Mondays ago. Without their top star

The Philadelphia 76ers got off to a rough start when they kicked off their second-round series against the Miami Heat two Mondays ago. Without their top star Joel Embiid in the mix, the Sixers suffered on both ends of the ball and collected back-to-back double-digit losses in Games 1 and 2.

Last Friday, they were fortunate to get Embiid back in the mix for Game 3. While Embiid didn't return with an MVP-caliber performance, his presence alone gave the 76ers a boost and allowed them to get in the winner's column for the first time this series by picking up a significant double-digit victory.

When the Sixers and the Heat met again for Game 4, the game was much tighter. However, Embiid and the Sixers maintained a lead throughout the matchup and closed out Game 4 with a victory, tying the series at 2-2.

While the Sixers have looked so much better with Embiid back in the fold, the superstar big man believes that the best has yet to come for the Sixers in the possible seven-game series against the Heat.

"The way we played is the reason why we were able to tie the series, but I don’t think we have played our best basketball," said Embiid after Game 4. "Tonight, we had way too many turnovers, and we missed a bunch of wide open shots. We had a couple of possessions offensively that didn’t go our way, and then defensively, at times, especially at the end of that third quarter, we weren’t together."

In total, the Sixers turned the ball over 17 times in Game 4. The big man contributed to the second-most amount of turnovers with four, while James Harden led the pack with six. While the 76ers were happy to even the series before hitting the road to Miami once again, Embiid is looking forward to his team making key adjustments before they attempt to steal a victory away from South Philly.

"We’ve got a lot of adjustments and room to grow," Embiid finished. "So, we have to learn from [our mistakes in Game 4]. But, we are far from playing our best basketball, so that is the encouraging thing."

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.

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