2023 East Semifinals | (2) Boston Celtics VS. (3) Philadelphia 76ers (PHI leads 3-2)

Raps in 4 · Post #1941 » by **Raps in 4** » Wed May 10, 2023 7:35 am

Celtics have been exposed. We're getting a Jokic vs. Embiid finals showdown. Loser gives their MVP trophies to the winner.

Jhawk03 · Post #1942 » by **Jhawk03** » Wed May 10, 2023 7:45 am

I still don't understand how Boston choked game 4, they lost control of the series after that.

durden_tyler · Post #1943 » by **durden_tyler** » Wed May 10, 2023 8:15 am

robbie84 wrote:
HardenToSixers wrote:The win is nice and the whiny crybabies about Embiid flopping watching Marcus "Magikarp" Smart ragdoll himself across the court while we take a 3-2 lead is such sweet, sweet icing on the cake.

I mean, Embid is an amazing player but his flailing and falling over/foul baiting is comical.
It becomes boring to an extent.

Boring and effective. Much like Smart too, only the latter isn't getting the calls lately.

eyeatoma · Post #1944 » by **eyeatoma** » Wed May 10, 2023 8:33 am

So much for Horford taking Embiid's soul...

Read on Twitter

eyeatoma · Post #1945 » by **eyeatoma** » Wed May 10, 2023 8:37 am

Maxey was definitely the difference in this game.

Read on Twitter

Embiid was great, Harden was too, so was Tobias, and Danuel House/Tucker. But without Maxey they wouldn't have won.

PlatinumState · Post #1946 » by **PlatinumState** » Wed May 10, 2023 8:44 am

Im suprised by Boston being down

eyeatoma · Post #1947 » by **eyeatoma** » Wed May 10, 2023 8:53 am

CodeBreaker wrote:A Heat vs Sixers series would be so good.

Butler: TOBIAS OVER ME??

Lol, Tobias would go into a proverbial shell. Jimmy would talk so much trash lol.

billy bremner · Post #1948 » by **billy bremner** » Wed May 10, 2023 10:22 am

I think that Philly's defence ability is underrated. Players like Tobias, Tucker, Embiid and Melton can lock up pretty well

LloydFree · Post #1949 » by **LloydFree** » Wed May 10, 2023 10:26 am

PlatinumState wrote:Im suprised by Boston being down

Somehow I am not, based on how the series has gone. The Celtics have zero respect for the 76ers. The 76ers got two wins that they perceived as lucky. They didn't know they were in a Playoff series, until they were halfway through game 5, and now they're down 3-2.

robbie84 · Post #1950 » by **robbie84** » Wed May 10, 2023 10:59 am

HumbleRen wrote:I know people are really upset at Joe but the biggest difference between last year and this team are the bigs to me.

Horford took a year off in OKC and it showed last year. This year ? Horford just plainly looks old. No ways about it. Horford has lost a step on both ends and Timelord looks like a shell of himself.

Horford had a bad game, he's been incredible for us. The year off was great for his longevity. Also remember he basically missed two full seasons of playing time in ATL with the torn pectoral muscle/surgery/reinjury etc...

But yeah, your hot take is way off.

rzzzzz · Post #1951 » by **rzzzzz** » Wed May 10, 2023 11:18 am

34 fouls shots? Well you can’t accuse the refs of not getting the memo from Silver.

HumbleRen · Post #1952 » by **HumbleRen** » Wed May 10, 2023 11:49 am

robbie84 wrote:
HumbleRen wrote:I know people are really upset at Joe but the biggest difference between last year and this team are the bigs to me.

Horford took a year off in OKC and it showed last year. This year ? Horford just plainly looks old. No ways about it. Horford has lost a step on both ends and Timelord looks like a shell of himself.

Horford had a bad game, he's been incredible for us. The year off was great for his longevity. Also remember he basically missed two full seasons of playing time in ATL with the torn pectoral muscle/surgery/reinjury etc...

But yeah, your hot take is way off.

Idk man, he was way more spry last year. He physically lost a step.

2021-2022 Horford Playoffs - 12/9/3 on 52/48/80 splits. 1.6 FTA per game.

2022-2023 Horford Playoffs - 7/7/3 on 39/31/100 splits. on 0.3 FTA per game.

Yeah, I'm going to stick with my take that he's washed lol.

Timelord is cooked cooked as well.

76ciology · Post #1953 » by **76ciology** » Wed May 10, 2023 11:58 am

Jhawk03 wrote:I still don't understand how Boston choked game 4, they lost control of the series after that.

Sixers had complete control of that game. They should have a 20pt lead in the first half if Tobias and Melton didnt blow two point blank layups in transition.

And sixers should have won end of regulation if not for Smart flopping and being granted 2 freethrows. And in OT, Sixers dont even need that Harden 3 if that push off by Tatum was called.

Sixers played with their meat, Celts came back. Sixers showed why they’re a better team in crunch time.

Wolfgang630 · Post #1954 » by **Wolfgang630** » Wed May 10, 2023 12:06 pm

Boston is pathetic. You’re a top 2 franchise in nba history. So more lore and championships. You should be holding home court with no problems. It’s like home court means Jack **** to this team

Tatum starts off slow wayyyyy too many games. Horford has been garbage from 3’s. Forget everything else with him. You need him to hit those 3 point shots. So many he missed to take the lead or push momentum and he just kills it.

zeebneeb · Post #1955 » by **zeebneeb** » Wed May 10, 2023 12:49 pm

Wolfgang630 wrote:Boston is pathetic. You’re a top 2 franchise in nba history. So more lore and championships. You should be holding home court with no problems. It’s like home court means Jack **** to this team

Tatum starts off slow wayyyyy too many games. Horford has been garbage from 3’s. Forget everything else with him. You need him to hit those 3 point shots. So many he missed to take the lead or push momentum and he just kills it.

Tatums whole problem is summed up in his three-point shooting. He is flat-out not a good enough shooter to be taking the volume that he is, and its a huge crutch for him.

His handle is sloppy, so he thinks before he drives the lane, and ends up taking a canned animation three. It's super frustrating to watch him play at times.

2-5 threes per game, with a max of 7 when he's hitting. He can't seem to help himself though. 3/11 last night.

bebopdeluxe · Post #1956 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Wed May 10, 2023 1:10 pm

robbie84 wrote:
HardenToSixers wrote:The win is nice and the whiny crybabies about Embiid flopping watching Marcus "Magikarp" Smart ragdoll himself across the court while we take a 3-2 lead is such sweet, sweet icing on the cake.

I mean, Embid is an amazing player but his flailing and falling over/foul baiting is comical.
It becomes boring to an extent.

The irony of complaining about Embiid’s flopping in a series in which Marcus Smart is also participating is incredibly rich.

You DO see this - right?

nikster · Post #1957 » by **nikster** » Wed May 10, 2023 1:12 pm

bebopdeluxe wrote:
robbie84 wrote:
HardenToSixers wrote:The win is nice and the whiny crybabies about Embiid flopping watching Marcus "Magikarp" Smart ragdoll himself across the court while we take a 3-2 lead is such sweet, sweet icing on the cake.

I mean, Embid is an amazing player but his flailing and falling over/foul baiting is comical.
It becomes boring to an extent.

The irony of complaining about Embiid’s flopping in a series in which Marcus Smart is also participating is incredibly rich.

You DO see this - right?

Embiids flailing is over the top. Marcus Smart doesnt flail nearly as frequently

Bergmaniac · Post #1958 » by **Bergmaniac** » Wed May 10, 2023 1:12 pm

Kudos to the Sixers, they came to Boston, played hard and executed their plan well. Excellent games by their big 3. Harden's playmaking was crucial. Nice bounceback from Maxey and Embiid was really good on both ends.

Boston again showed subpar D and lack of urgency. Timelord looks so much worse these playoff compared to last year's, is he injured again? Just doesn't have any impact on either end most of the time. Last year he was dominant on D and getting dunks and offensive boards on offense with ease, now you don't even notice he is out there. Boston's defensive rating with him on the court last year in the playoffs was 100.5, which is incredible in the modern NBA. This year it's 114.4 which is mediocre at best even considering that the opposition is better offensively.

Horford is also showing his age most of the time, he had his moments defensively in this series, mostly down the stretch in Game 4, but he's looked slow and tired a lot of the time. This is probably the main reason why Boston's defense is a pale shadow of what it used to be last season. The coaching change probably doesn't help either in this area.

On the other end, the lack of really good playmaker is an issue for them. The contrast between the playmaking someone like Harden provides to what Smart can do is pretty staggering.

Homer38 · Post #1959 » by **Homer38** » Wed May 10, 2023 1:12 pm

The 76ers are in a great position and I believe this time they will be in the ECF....The focus of the Celtics is also not very good, since they are far from being locked IN in crucial moment.They lack the sense of urgency you need to have to be a NBA champion

Their loss to the hawks in game 5 was a sign to come and their loss in game 1 vs 76ers without Embiid was just awful...they can win this series like they did last year vs Bucks when the bucks were up 3-2, but it's not a good situation to be in

But just a question, how many times did Doc Rivers blow a 3-2 lead in his head coaching career?

bebopdeluxe · Post #1960 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Wed May 10, 2023 1:17 pm

nikster wrote:
bebopdeluxe wrote:
robbie84 wrote:
I mean, Embid is an amazing player but his flailing and falling over/foul baiting is comical.
It becomes boring to an extent.

The irony of complaining about Embiid’s flopping in a series in which Marcus Smart is also participating is incredibly rich.

You DO see this - right?

Embiids flailing is over the top. Marcus Smart doesnt flail nearly as frequently

The difference is when Embiid flops, it is after contact from the defensive player. Half the time when Smart flops, it is from a stiff breeze.

There is a difference.

Who wins?