Boston in the 2nd round. How do the 76ers win the series?

[DCasey91]

If and when Embiid gets back I’d love to see this setup:

Harden
Maxey/Melton
Harris/Niang
Reed
Embiid

Play a high/low setup with Reed at the 4 in tandem with Embiid.

That setup to me has better matchups against the Celtics because Reed in reality goes with brown/tatum/horford easily.

I’m down on tucker as we need rebounding and length both of which he does not have. His ethics are amazing but his rep is well overrated because he didn’t hinder Durant at all neither Tatum for that matter. They will just shoot over the top whenever they want and Tucker can’t do anything about it.

Then in theory if the paint is shut down we can hunt steals and prioritise targeting horford with Harden or Maxey. It’s up to Doc though.

I really believe Reed/Embiid at the 4/5 has long term applications and great dividends.

[Ferry Avenue]

So it was speculated that Joel could return in game 2. Would you let this win mean he waits until Philly loses, or bring him back regardless?


If he can play even just a little bit I'll bring him back in game 2. I might even start Reed and try to get 15 to 25 minutes of Jo for defense and to be a decoy offensively. Insert him to stop the bleeding sometimes. Just make him available, maybe you don't play him at all.

I would play him based on what I would've done had the team lost last night and been down 0-1. The last thing you want to do is give your own team the impression that you're "coasting," and you certainly don't want to insult the opposing team by giving them the message that the series is in the bag and you can afford to rest your best player if he would've otherwise played.

This is all irrelevant because there’s no way he’s actually 100% healthy, and it’s more a question of do you want to put him out there when he’s as recovered as he is tomorrow versus on Friday.

I think the issue is whether the decision to play him should be based not only on his health status, but also on the fact that the Sixers have gotten themselves a "cushion" here by winning game one.

Personally I'd make the decision as though the team had no such cushion and was down 0-1. If you would've played him -- given his actual health status -- down 0-1, then you should also play him up 1-0. If you wouldn't have played him down 0-1 then by all means don't play him up 1-0 either.

[mjkvol]

It would be amazing to beat Boston again without Embiid to demoralize them and go up 2-0. I legitimately think it’s possible because everyone is rolling at the moment.

They are indeed rolling at the moment, and they're rolling in large part because nobody's giving them a shot of winning the series without Embiid. They were 10-point underdogs in game one for example, a margin rarely seen in a second-round NBA playoff game.

You sit Embiid when he's healthy enough to play and you immediately reverse that dynamic. At that point you're no longer the underdog in a David and Goliath scenario -- you're instead portraying yourselves as Goliath and sending the opposition the message you got them beaten already.

Embiid isn't currently healthy enough to play. This isn't some cryptic form of gamesmanship on the part of Rivers and the Sixers. We aren't holding Embiid out to get a psychological edge on the Celtics. HE HAS A SPRAINED LIGAMENT! It can get worse if he plays on that sprained ligament. It can potentially lead to him shredding his entire knee. What part of that are you not understanding?

Exactly. You have to remember that Ferry is our resident armchair psychologist, and needs to go through all sorts of mental gymnastics to explain every damn thing that happens on a basketball court from a psychological standpoint. This from his vast experience playing high level competitive sports.

[Eyeamok]

I'd sit him and let the team get into a groove. What gets lost is that Boston had a great shooting night. Scoring at willl in the paint and the 76ers still managed to win. With better defense this 76ers team might be able to do the impossible and win game two.

Also when PJ Tucker was chewing out Paul Reed, did anyone else notice how Harden was sitting back so PJ would have an unobstructed line of sight to Paul Reed. Once PJ had finished Harden resumed his normal position. And I believe he even tapped Paul on his temple in a "You need to think" moment. Good job by both Harden and PJ.

It's amazing a lot of times we say that these guys are overpaid babies playing a kid's game. But it situations like these that show a lot of these players care and want to win in the worst way. I'm glad we have that on this team now.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

They are indeed rolling at the moment, and they're rolling in large part because nobody's giving them a shot of winning the series without Embiid. They were 10-point underdogs in game one for example, a margin rarely seen in a second-round NBA playoff game.

You sit Embiid when he's healthy enough to play and you immediately reverse that dynamic. At that point you're no longer the underdog in a David and Goliath scenario -- you're instead portraying yourselves as Goliath and sending the opposition the message you got them beaten already.

Embiid isn't currently healthy enough to play. This isn't some cryptic form of gamesmanship on the part of Rivers and the Sixers. We aren't holding Embiid out to get a psychological edge on the Celtics. HE HAS A SPRAINED LIGAMENT! It can get worse if he plays on that sprained ligament. It can potentially lead to him shredding his entire knee. What part of that are you not understanding?

Exactly. You have to remember that Ferry is our resident armchair psychologist, and needs to go through all sorts of mental gymnastics to explain every damn thing that happens on a basketball court from a psychological standpoint. This from his vast experience playing high level competitive sports.

Yeah for sure. It definitely helps to understand if you've actually played the game or at least have some understanding of human anatomy. With over thirty years of watching sports, I've gotten to become quite familiar with knee injuries and at the very least the timeframe it takes to heal from them. Research is a beautiful thing at times. I'm definitely going to take the advice of medical professionals as opposed to some angry man eating cheese sticks at a Buffalo Wild Wings yelling "EMBIID IS SOFT!" "GET OUT THERE!" "HELP YOUR TEAM!"

[HardenGoat]

Seeing that the only thing that can expedite healing of a ligament sprain is time and treatment you try to maximize that by allowing it to happen. Embiid wasn’t going to play game 1 or 2 for that very reason. I would venture he won’t play game 3 or even 4 if our team is still in the series. If we are down 3-1, 3-2, or tied 3-3 we will see him come in. Yes it’s the same thing as Durant and that was the risk he and the team took at that time. There is no psychology to this. We are dealing with a physical injury and a biological process.

[76ciology]

Im comfortable sitting Biid for G2 and G3, only if our 4-5 rotation is not a mess.

Reed was good to end the game. Maybe he can continue that for full 48 in G2.

But to start the game, he was a mess, similar to Net G4. Then once he is a mess, I dont like how Tucker-McDaniels played at the 4&5. Although I like it on paper.

If there’s one thing we need to figure out that determines whether Biid is going to play and is non-Embiid related, it’s the 4-5 rotation. Which if it’s solid to good, i might not even play Biid unless we’re down 2-1 or 3-1.

[76ciology]

Fire power wise, I think we can maintain it.

Harden only shot 2-5 against Al and 6-6 against Smart. He can make more shots against Al, who he shot 50-60% with. If Melton is ice cold, we can probably play Milton?

Maxey missed a lot of 3s that were halfway in.

In G1, we found ways to slow down Tatum and Jaylen. Both were shut down in 2nd half. I can’t say the same thing about Celts defense where Maxey did his damage in the 3rd qtr and Harden did his thing in the 4th.

Downside is, if perimeter shooting gone sour, we dont have anything to fallback with if we’re playing without Biid. And I also dont expect the refs to be good with us, given we’re playing in Boston and the league would want us to play Biid in G3.

[HardenToSixers]

Fire power wise, I think we can maintain it.

Harden only shot 2-5 against Al and 6-6 against Smart. He can make more shots against Al, who he shot 50-60% with. If Melton is ice cold, we can probably play Milton?

Maxey missed a lot of 3s that were halfway in.

In G1, we found ways to slow down Tatum and Jaylen. Both were shut down in 2nd half. I can’t say the same thing about Celts defense where Maxey did his damage in the 3rd qtr and Harden did his thing in the 4th.

Downside is, if perimeter shooting gone sour, we dont have anything to fallback with if we’re playing without Biid. And I also dont expect the refs to be good with us, given we’re playing in Boston and the league would want us to play Biid in G3.

we made so many 50/50 balls in the midrange in the first half which kept us in it. I think we can compete, but if you think it's going to come from us making more shots I don't think that's going to happen

[76ciology]

Fire power wise, I think we can maintain it.

Harden only shot 2-5 against Al and 6-6 against Smart. He can make more shots against Al, who he shot 50-60% with. If Melton is ice cold, we can probably play Milton?

Maxey missed a lot of 3s that were halfway in.

In G1, we found ways to slow down Tatum and Jaylen. Both were shut down in 2nd half. I can’t say the same thing about Celts defense where Maxey did his damage in the 3rd qtr and Harden did his thing in the 4th.

Downside is, if perimeter shooting gone sour, we dont have anything to fallback with if we’re playing without Biid. And I also dont expect the refs to be good with us, given we’re playing in Boston and the league would want us to play Biid in G3.

we made so many 50/50 balls in the midrange in the first half which kept us in it. I think we can compete, but if you think it's going to come from us making more shots I don't think that's going to happen

Not likely going to make more shots. But I think we can possibly maintain our scoring.

[HardenToSixers]

Fire power wise, I think we can maintain it.

Harden only shot 2-5 against Al and 6-6 against Smart. He can make more shots against Al, who he shot 50-60% with. If Melton is ice cold, we can probably play Milton?

Maxey missed a lot of 3s that were halfway in.

In G1, we found ways to slow down Tatum and Jaylen. Both were shut down in 2nd half. I can’t say the same thing about Celts defense where Maxey did his damage in the 3rd qtr and Harden did his thing in the 4th.

Downside is, if perimeter shooting gone sour, we dont have anything to fallback with if we’re playing without Biid. And I also dont expect the refs to be good with us, given we’re playing in Boston and the league would want us to play Biid in G3.

we made so many 50/50 balls in the midrange in the first half which kept us in it. I think we can compete, but if you think it's going to come from us making more shots I don't think that's going to happen

Not likely going to make more shots. But I think we can possibly maintain our scoring.

I agree. It's possible. Maxey getting hot from 3 could be a nice source of scoring. I think we will score slightly less efficiently and hopefully can step it up defensively in the first half.

[76ciology]

we made so many 50/50 balls in the midrange in the first half which kept us in it. I think we can compete, but if you think it's going to come from us making more shots I don't think that's going to happen

Not likely going to make more shots. But I think we can possibly maintain our scoring.

I agree. It's possible. Maxey getting hot from 3 could be a nice source of scoring. I think we will score slightly less efficiently and hopefully can step it up defensively in the first half.

Yup. Maxey got better quality looks compared to reg season or atleast from what we expect, in my eyes.

If offense falters, we just need to play defense like how we did in 2nd half. While also try to get more possessions via forcing TOs and ORebs to make up for the lower shooting %s.

Harden has to stay sharp on taking care of the ball. While our guys have to play hard.

It’s really interesting how Celts would adjust. I think adjusting would be a double edged sword for them. For instance sending multiple bodies for Harden would lead to more open looks for shooters. While entrusting more responsibility on offense for their PGs mean less usage for their wings. And because of that Im not expecting any big adjustments, but who knows.

[76ciology]

Adjustments I expect Celts will make in G2
- Celts will pace this one unlike in G1, its similar to the adjustment they did in G5 and G6 of the Hawks series. This will lead to Tatum or Brown playing better in 2nd half. We wont see lay-up drills for both teams in the first half.
- Celts will play Al Horford less, and Rob Williams more. Celts will also capitalize on those non-Reed minutes, possibly playing double big. Reed has to play a lot in this scenario.
- Celts’s defender on Tucker will provide more help defense, baiting Sixers to letting Tucker have a larger role on offense (Tucker then should set better screens)
- I expect Brogdon/JB to defend Harden more instead of Smart

[Jay555]

We need at least 110 pts

Harden 30
Maxey 30
Tobi 20
Reed 10
Tucker 3
Melton 12
Niang 6
Jalen 2

It’s going to be tough. Between Harden/Maxey/Tobi/Melton, we have to get 90+ or we might struggle.

[M2J]

From Pompey article

If he can play, he plays,” Doc Rivers said. “If it’s 50/50, we would probably err on the other side because we’ve done that all year. So we’re just not going to take any chances.”

Tuesday marked the first time he participated in running drills since spraining his right lateral collateral ligament on April 20 in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets. Rivers said Embiid did work out in a pool, stressing that it’s not a basketball workout.

But on Tuesday, Embiid ran through the Sixers’ shell offense.

“And doing it up and down [the court] a couple times,” Rivers said, “and seeing how he does and how he fares.”

The next step is to see how his knee responds on Wednesday.

“You have to do it the day before [the game] to see if the next day, if there’s increased swelling,” Rivers said. “Then. even if he feels good that’s a no. So that’s what we will have to find out tomorrow.”

If there is no swelling and he plays. I'd do what I said earlier, and just manage him with 15-20 minutes in this one. Let him anchor the bench, maybe close the game with 5 minutes left. Therefore the Sixers can of course manage him, Play fast and see if they improved with their schemes defensively, and have him there to plug holes.

[76ciology]

Should Biid play?

For me if he’s not atleast 90%, then he should sit for the next game.

Celts is quite exposed now. Our coaching has done a great job running schemes the entire season and getting the team prepared to counter their identity and philosophy on both ends.

Hawks did a good job exposing them in G3 to G6 and we confirmed everything in G1.

Learning new chink(s) to their armor and a healthier Biid in G3 despite losing G2 would already be a victory for me.

Then on G3, they’d face Biid who they haven’t faced in the playoffs while we know which buttons to push to let us win the next 2 games at home.

I also dont know if the refs and league will allow us to steal 2 games at their home. It would be really hard to beat them in G2. If we can beat them without Biid, it’s pretty much over for them.

We’d be in a bad spot if we lose next game with Biid while he can’t play in G3 because of his knee. And thats a scenario that is almost synonymous to losing the series for me.Rushing Biid might mean shaky availability from him in upcoming series.

So sitting out Biid in G2 is a low risk and high reward move for me.

G3 with Biid on his first game back, I wouldnt be surprised if the refs would be on our side. Damn, if we won G2 without Biid and Biid returns in G3 at home, we’re likely going to 3-0 this series.

[76ciology]

McDaniels gives me the GRob 3 vibes.

The “im busy padding my stats in a losing team, why the F did you trade for me” vibe.

[blargh]

McDaniels gives me the GRob 3 vibes.

The “im busy padding my stats in a losing team, why the F did you trade for me” vibe.

I didn’t see that. I saw a guy who was just flustered by the intensity of playoff basketball.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

Yeah I don't see GRob3 with McDaniels. I see upside and athleticism from the wing position. He's a playmaker and he's going to make something happen.

[spikeslovechild]

Fire power wise, I think we can maintain it.

Harden only shot 2-5 against Al and 6-6 against Smart. He can make more shots against Al, who he shot 50-60% with. If Melton is ice cold, we can probably play Milton?

Maxey missed a lot of 3s that were halfway in.

In G1, we found ways to slow down Tatum and Jaylen. Both were shut down in 2nd half. I can’t say the same thing about Celts defense where Maxey did his damage in the 3rd qtr and Harden did his thing in the 4th.

Downside is, if perimeter shooting gone sour, we dont have anything to fallback with if we’re playing without Biid. And I also dont expect the refs to be good with us, given we’re playing in Boston and the league would want us to play Biid in G3.

The main adjustment we need to make is with Reed. He needs to stay closer to the paint and challenge shots. If he fouls out you bring in another big but we can't allow them to score inside at will.

Reed has the athleticism to alter and challenge shots.