Cheap Josh Allen Jersey from chenyan's blog

Even as the Philadelphia 76ers exceeded expectations this season Derwin James Jersey , those who have indeed trusted the process still could not have imagined the team’s quick ascension to the NBA’s elite.

Joel Embiid, for one, isn’t about to pump the brakes on what has been a whirlwind ride that has the 76ers heading into their Game 5 home matchup on Tuesday sporting a 3-1 lead over the visiting Miami Heat.

“A lot of people say we have a bright future,” said Embiid, whose 76ers host the Heat at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center. “But I think our time is now. We have a special team and I feel like now we have a pretty good chance to go forward.”

Speaking of the now: With their backs against the wall, the Heat are not flailing their arms wildly, looking for any target.

They are pointedly focused on the present: Game 5 and the 76ers.

“It’s not necessarily us against the world,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s us against the Philadelphia 76ers. We have to find a way to finish games. They’ve really nailed us in the fourth quarters of all four games, except the one we were able to pull away. We just have to do better. Through three quarters, we’ve been up. It’s going to require a full 48-minute game of our absolute best effort.”

Miami has been outscored by Philadelphia by an astounding 42 points in just the fourth quarters through four games. Even in the Heat’s 113-103 Game 2 win at Philadelphia, the 76ers still outscored Miami 28-27 in the fourth quarter.

In a roundabout way, that Game 2 loss — which snapped Philadelphia’s 17-game winning streak — actually gave 76ers coach Brett Brown some much-needed locker room material heading into the game.

“Everybody’s trying to break somebody’s spirit Sam Darnold Youth Jersey ,” Brown said Monday. “It’s always the same thing. It happens on the other side of it. And I know (Spoelstra), who is a great coach, would be in his locker room saying, ‘All we got to do is win a game and come home.’

“They’re going to live in a really isolated, sort of roomed-in world of, ‘Let’s just win a game. We won a game last time we were here, and just come home and figure it out.’ You can see it.”

Knowing his team can close out a hungry opponent on Tuesday, Brown isn’t changing his message too much.

“My intention is not to speak anything into existence,” Brown said. “It’s all about trying help the team win. Like, we want to get better. We’re gonna. We’re going to go into Tuesday night and we’re going to get better. I believe that if we think like that, act like that, coach like that Mike Gesicki Dolphins Jersey , then the habit becomes, I hope, we’re going to win.”

J.J. Redick, no stranger to heated playoff series, echoed his coach’s thoughts on Monday.

In Game 4, Redick led the 76ers with 24 points en route to a 106-102 win in a game that Philadelphia trailed by four after three quarters.

“You’re feeling each other out and then later on in the series you have to deliver a crushing blow,” Redick said. “You have to finish that. A team like Miami, their culture, their organization, their group of guys, they have fighters. They have warriors on their team. Every game in this series has been tough and there’s no indication that Game 5 will be different. It’s going to be a tough game.”

Below him, Flyers prospects in the same age range as the 19-year-old Straschnitzki skated in drills and in a hurry to impress Mike Hughes Vikings Jersey , much like his days as a defenseman for the Humboldt Broncos before the bus crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Philadelphia general manager Ron Hextall and other members of the organization came to visit. Defenseman Sam Morin heard Straschnitzki was in the building and popped by for a chat.

The hopeful Flyers paused during camp Friday and raised their sticks toward Straschnitzki for a traditional salute.

Straschnitzki was right where he wanted to be – at the rink, watching the game he loves.

”Just the smell of the ice coming in today brought back so many memories of your first time skating ,” Straschnitzki said.

Straschnitzki met the coaching staff and some top prospects during a break in his rehabilitation from the injuries suffered in April when a bus carrying the Broncos to a playoff game collided with a semi-trailer at a rural intersection, killing 16. Straschnitzki was among 13 more injured.

Straschnitzki was wheeled on a stretcher into Shriners Hospitals for Children in Philadelphia on May 31 and expected to rehab there for six to eight weeks. He has used weights almost daily to work on his arm muscles during physiotherapy sessions and has walked on a treadmill with the help of therapists. Sitting on a massage table, he’s used laser focus for the simple task of tying the laces on his sneakers.

”I’ve made quite a bit of progress,” he said. ”The rehab pushed me to my limits.”

Straschnitzki needs two hours in the morning just to complete routine tasks like a shower and getting dressed before he starts his exercises. He rehabs for about two hours, breaks for lunch, then has two more rehab sessions before he ends the day in exhaustion. With the same tireless work ethic he used to move up the hockey ranks, Straschnitzki said he was told he could return ahead of scheduled to his Airdrie, Alberta, home for the first time in almost eight months next weekend.

His family home is undergoing a $200,000 renovation to make it handicapped accessible and the Straschnitzkis will live in a hotel for the summer until construction is completed.

The Calgary Flames have talked to Straschnitzki once he’s settled about a possible job in the organization.

”Hockey is my life M.J. Stewart Buccaneers Jersey ,” he said. ”I’ve grown up talking about it, living it, playing it. I think if there’s a job opportunity down the road, I think it’s definitely option. Right now, though, I’m just focused on healing first and getting better. We’ll see what happens.”

The NHL has rallied around the survivors and families of the victims. Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald offered the Straschnitzkis use of his home and car when the family was in Philadelphia. Hextall, who stopped to compose himself at times, said the tragedy has brought out the best in hockey.

”Ryan’s an inspiring young man. He’s special, he really is,” said Hextall, a former star goalie for the Flyers said. ”He’s not feeling sorry for himself.”

Straschnitzki was among 10 survivors at the NHL Awards last week in Las Vegas at the invitation of the league and NHLPA. It was the first time so many Broncos had been together since the crash. They wore Humboldt jerseys and head coach Darcy Haugan, who was killed in the crash Cheap Josh Allen Jersey , was honored with the inaugural Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award.

”They’re your brothers for life now,” Straschnitzki said. ”Just being able to see them, it’s like time froze. You’re in the room again, you’re just enjoying the moment being with them. We all heal in our own ways. Just being with them at the NHL awards was amazing.”

Tom Straschnitzki said he’s tried to keep his son’s spirits high during the grueling rehabilitation process.

”When he’s down, we just try to push him back up and keep him on the straight and narrow,” he said.

Straschnitzki dreams of hitting the ice again, this time playing sledge hockey – basically hockey on sleds for players with physical disabilities.

”It’s my life, so I’d love to do it,” he said.

Straschnitzki has never wanted to distance himself from the sport he’s played since he was a boy. But finding his way back to hockey in any capacity perhaps remains a distant goal.

”I know it’s going to take time,” he said. ”I just need to be patient.”

—

.