NBA Playoffs 2020: Round 1, Game 1 – Celtics vs Sixers – 6:30PM, Mon, 8/17/20

[zoyathedestroya]

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There's no doubt coaches will be targeting our lack of size inside. Time Lord needs to be active and ready.

Getting Theis in foul trouble will be on the opposing team's defensive game plan.

WFT, Theis already has 3 fouls? This doesn't seem fair!


Joking aside, I hope we can win convincingly enough to really put it in Horfords face. Ya picked the wrong team bud! See ya in hell!

Theis won't play more than 26 minutes anyway. And not all those minutes will be spent against Embiid. I don't think he fouls out in any of these games unless the War on Theis will be ramped up by the refs in the coming days.

It could go something like Theis (22), Kanter (16), Timelord (10) with a possible quick hook for Rob in case of consecutive screw-ups. Would love to see Timelord go against Horford in PnR w/ either Smart or Hayward. Since they aren't playing heavy minutes, our bigs should go HARD and run at every opportunity. Tire out Al and Jo.

[zoyathedestroya]

For all the talk of our bigs getting dominated by Embiid, he only shot a combined 12/32 (37.5%) from the field and 9/14 (64.29%) from the FT line against Theis & Kanter in our LOSSES. My bigger worry is their other guys going off esp from three because of overhelp/poor defensive rotation/communication. If we defend the three like we did vs. Miami and 2nd half of Portland game, we're screwed. If we defend like we did vs. Toronto, we'll be fine regardless of what damage Embiid does inside.

Pressure the ball, make the entry pass as difficult as possible, don't let Embiid get deep position (this is tough I admit), accentuate the hits whenever Embiid puts out that elbow, cover the passing lanes once he gets the ball and gets doubled. He still doesn't scare me as much as Giannis. Both guys can be schemed against as long as we stay disciplined and focused. Don't let them get second chances, gang-rebound if you have to. Those open threes via kickouts off an offensive board are morale killers.

[Tyakack]

I REALLY want to get excited about this series. But this whole thing stiff feels fake. Just has not been the same

I shared your same feelings before the NBA restart but I have been pleasantly surprised by how entertaining the games still are even without fans. TBH, all though I'd prefer fans, this whole bubble thing has far exceeded my expectations and I'm pumped for the playoffs.

[ConstableGeneva]

Waiting for playoff basketball like...

[Triple7]

Just don’t bite on Embiids fakes and flops, we got this!

[jmr07019]

11 hours until tip off. Work is gonna drag today

[Fantaxp7]

For all the talk of our bigs getting dominated by Embiid, he only shot a combined 12/32 (37.5%) from the field and 9/14 (64.29%) from the FT line against Theis & Kanter in our LOSSES. My bigger worry is their other guys going off esp from three because of overhelp/poor defensive rotation/communication. If we defend the three like we did vs. Miami and 2nd half of Portland game, we're screwed. If we defend like we did vs. Toronto, we'll be fine regardless of what damage Embiid does inside.

Pressure the ball, make the entry pass as difficult as possible, don't let Embiid get deep position (this is tough I admit), accentuate the hits whenever Embiid puts out that elbow, cover the passing lanes once he gets the ball and gets doubled. He still doesn't scare me as much as Giannis. Both guys can be schemed against as long as we stay disciplined and focused. Don't let them get second chances, gang-rebound if you have to. Those open threes via kickouts off an offensive board are morale killers.

Yea I really think we more than just "got by" with our quality of starting bigs this season. The eye test said we played bigger teams well. You are correct we do have to worry about others going off.

[zoyathedestroya]

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[The_Ghost_of_JB]

I REALLY want to get excited about this series. But this whole thing stiff feels fake. Just has not been the same

I shared your same feelings before the NBA restart but I have been pleasantly surprised by how entertaining the games still are even without fans. TBH, all though I'd prefer fans, this whole bubble thing has far exceeded my expectations and I'm pumped for the playoffs.

I was in the same boat before this started. The bubble was better than I thought. Yeah, the first game was a little strange but after that I became accustom to no crowd the very next game. Even with the bubble being better than I thought I am still having a hard time getting excited for the playoffs for the simple fact I am not sure this team can even get by the sixers.

With no Simmons this series is easier but like I said Embiid is Horford are going to cause issues. Harris plays well against the Celtics and it seems like some of the roles players always go off so I expect Richardson, Burks and Robinson to have good games.

[zoyathedestroya]

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PUT ON THOSE SEXPANTS!! We need at least a couple of blowouts in Cs favor so we get to see VSP in playoff action.

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Officials tonight: Zach Zarba (#15), Pat Fraher (#26), Sean Corbin (#33)

[Feed Your Head]

Everybody is rightfully talking about how Embiid is such a tough matchup, especially in the playoffs when the game slows down and is much more of a half court game. What is also super important is the ability to score consistently in the half court, which means the dreaded ISO. This is where the growth of Tatum will pay off in a huge way, this is from a Goldsberry article about six stats and guys who will shape how the playoffs go.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29675088/six-nba-playoff-stats-stars-shape-round-1

Tatum is a different beast this season, and that's most clear in his own shot-creation stats. Check out these two nuggets:

Last season, Tatum's 290 isolation plays generated just 0.75 points per chance. That ranked last out of 43 players with at least 250 isos.

This season, Tatum's 386 isolations generated 1.09 points per chance. That ranked third best among 28 players with at least 250 isos.

How did Tatum go from the worst iso player in the league to one of its best in only one season? A combination of better shot selection and a few new tricks from downtown.

A season ago, Tatum had the kind of shot diet that would make Daryl Morey cringe. He dribbled into way too many ill-advised midrange pull-ups and didn't make them very often. He didn't attack the rack or leverage the 3-point line well enough. This season, he has trimmed out those junky midrangers and started ruining opponents with pull-ups from downtown instead.

Tatum has also become a one-man 3-point engine, hitting 41.1% of his unassisted 3s this season. That's the highest conversion rate among 16 players with at least 200 tries. Lillard is the only other player above 40%. And, mimicking Harden, Tatum is adding the step-back 3 in his arsenal -- hitting 61 total (while shooting 41.2%) compared to 14 makes last season.

That's the move to watch in these playoffs. If Tatum can cash these self-created triples, it raises the Celtics to a whole different level.

[Celts17Pride]

Put up or Shut up time. Let’s Go Celtics!!!!

[zoyathedestroya]

That's the thing. With Simmons out, who guards Tatum? In the 4 previous matchups, Ben guarded Jayson in more than half of his possessions. Limited him to 5/16 shooting. Who do the Sixers put on him now? Thybulle's too short I think to bother his shot. Al's too slow. And if the Cs don't like the guy defending Tatum, they can just force a switch and hunt the weakest Sixers defender like Korkmaz or Burks like they did with Redick a couple of years ago or with Shamat against the Clippers this year.

One note though... I would still want the Cs to play their ball movement game more than get sucked into hunting mismatches. They can always do that anytime esp in a close game or late in possessions. If we go iso most of the time, we're bailing out the Sixers defense esp Embiid. We want them moving constantly and scrambling and chasing and eventually tiring out.

[Tyakack]

I REALLY want to get excited about this series. But this whole thing stiff feels fake. Just has not been the same

I shared your same feelings before the NBA restart but I have been pleasantly surprised by how entertaining the games still are even without fans. TBH, all though I'd prefer fans, this whole bubble thing has far exceeded my expectations and I'm pumped for the playoffs.

I was in the same boat before this started. The bubble was better than I thought. Yeah, the first game was a little strange but after that I became accustom to no crowd the very next game. Even with the bubble being better than I thought I am still having a hard time getting excited for the playoffs for the simple fact I am not sure this team can even get by the sixers.

With no Simmons this series is easier but like I said Embiid is Horford are going to cause issues. Harris plays well against the Celtics and it seems like some of the roles players always go off so I expect Richardson, Burks and Robinson to have good games.

I certainly have my doubts too. The sixers length I still believe will be a huge problem for us in this series. Without simmons, I think they are better in certain ways but not overall. That being said this celtics team is way too good for me to not be excited about a playoff series because of the opponent being too good or too much for us to handle. Let alone that opponent being the 7freaking6ers. The celtics may not be favored to win every series but they are good enough for me to truly think they have a shot at beating anyone they face in a series. That alone is enough for me to be very excited. I think they take this series in 6 with a real shot at taking it in 5 if they are really locked in.

[MagicBagley18]

I REALLY want to get excited about this series. But this whole thing stiff feels fake. Just has not been the same

Disagree. There’s nothing like real fans and home court advantage but the games have been pretty damn good and aesthetically it’s been way better than I imagined. Defense across the bubble is down but overall great job by players and the nba

Oh I don't think it has anything to do with the effort or in game product. It's great to have basketball back. But I can't help but feel that even if we win the whole thing, it doesn't really count.

Is what it is I guess. I'll still watch all the games and enjoy the 6ers going down in flames....again.

I was there in that mindset also before this started but now i think in 20 years no one will give a **** there was no home court advantage or that there was a lay off

[exculpatory]

I REALLY want to get excited about this series. But this whole thing stiff feels fake. Just has not been the same

I shared your same feelings before the NBA restart but I have been pleasantly surprised by how entertaining the games still are even without fans. TBH, all though I'd prefer fans, this whole bubble thing has far exceeded my expectations and I'm pumped for the playoffs.

I was in the same boat before this started. The bubble was better than I thought. Yeah, the first game was a little strange, but after that I became ACCUSTOMED (not accustom) to no crowd the very next game.

Even with the bubble being better than I thought, I am still having a hard time getting excited for the playoffs for the simple fact I am not sure this team can even get by the Sixers.

With no Simmons this series is easier, but like I said Embiid &=Horford are going to cause issues. Harris plays well against the Celtics and it seems like some of the roles players always go off - so I expect Richardson, Burks and Robinson to have good games.

Joe:

Firstly, I hope that your family is doing ok now.

Secondly, I am truly shocked that you feel this way. LOL. Joe, do you realize that 95% of your posts have been negative during the last 12 years & that you have picked us to lose just about every single PO series since the spring of 2008? To your credit, you rarely predict losses after we fall behind during the first half in recent years. Thanks for that!

Spark up, boyo.

[tfribs45]

There's no doubt coaches will be targeting our lack of size inside. Time Lord needs to be active and ready.

Getting Theis in foul trouble will be on the opposing team's defensive game plan.

WFT, Theis already has 3 fouls? This doesn't seem fair!


Joking aside, I hope we can win convincingly enough to really put it in Horfords face. Ya picked the wrong team bud! See ya in hell!

Theis won't play more than 26 minutes anyway. And not all those minutes will be spent against Embiid. I don't think he fouls out in any of these games unless the War on Theis will be ramped up by the refs in the coming days.

It could go something like Theis (22), Kanter (16), Timelord (10) with a possible quick hook for Rob in case of consecutive screw-ups. Would love to see Timelord go against Horford in PnR w/ either Smart or Hayward. Since they aren't playing heavy minutes, our bigs should go HARD and run at every opportunity. Tire out Al and Jo.

Cobra is going to be our best defender at the 5 when its all said and done...Have to use up Semi's fouls too.. Unfortunate we didn't upgrade their, well see how far small ball will take us! Go C's

[London2Boston]

Losing to these just can’t be acceptable. Probably my least favourite team in the league after Lakers.

[Green89]

Who's active for tonight and who's not?

[Ernest]

Losing to these just can’t be acceptable. Probably my least favourite team in the league after Lakers.

Easily my least favorite team. Just on principal I don't want to see them do well after "the process"

I get tanking is fine, but being ok with doing it for years is just a slap in the face to your fan base. I'm glad they altered the draft odds a bit to make it less appealing to teams.