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According to X, the Sixers Already Lost a Game That Won’t Be Played Until 7 P.M. Tonight
By Matt Schultz
Published:
If you’re a Sixers fan, you may want to sit down for this: According to X, the Celtics have defeated the Sixers in Game 5 and eliminated Philly from the playoffs – even though Game 5 doesn’t start for another four-ish hours:
This is undoubtedly a major blow to Sixers fans everywhere. No one is saying that the Sixers had an easy road ahead in this series; surely, they did not. Joel Embiid still isn’t anywhere near 100% after his appendectomy. The offensive identity is in crisis. Guys like Payton Pritchard are getting whatever they want against the Sixers’ defense. But to lose a game before the players even get to the arena is an absolutely gut-wrenching way to go out – and an elimination game, at that.
Imagine the Sixers’ players opening X this afternoon and seeing the heartbreaking news that the Celtics are moving on because they, the Sixers, dropped the ball tonight around dinnertime. Picture these guys having to drive over to the stadium any minute now to face the media to explain their brutal future loss. What do you even say? “We wanted that win, but we just couldn’t get it going later on when the game starts.”
The final loss of the season is never easy. But when the final loss comes hours before tipoff, that’s a whole different kind of pain.
Here’s to hoping that next year’s Sixers can bounce back, and that X doesn’t make an early announcement that Philly has already lost all 82 of those games, too.
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)