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

[mjkvol]

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.

Totally agree with this. I would plan to sit him until G5, and possibly bring him back for G4 if we lose the next two badly.

We won G1 with the Celtics firing on all cylinders for most of the games. I guarantee they went to the locker room at the half stunned that they didn't have a 20 point lead. We'll need more from Maxey, as Harden isn't likely to get the space to go off like that again, and we need the 4th quarter version of Reed for an entire game, but there's no reason we can't get one of the next two.

[Arsenal]

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.

Need more zone. Otherwise they're switching him out to the perimeter relentlessly and we're not able to get him back into the middle.

[mjkvol]

I also dont know if the refs and league will allow us to steal 2 games at their home.

I believe this is very real, not hyperbole. We've seen this exact kind of thing play out way too often in the NBA. I'm not a gambler, but Boston would probably be a very smart bet tonight. So let's shock the world.

[76ciology]

Btw, i dont know if ive said this before. But Joe Mazzulla reminds me a lot of Brett Brown.

With the way his coaches and with his reasonings on why he do certain things.

I think its partly being noob, partly because he’s suffering from impostor syndrome and partly because he knows they can replace him if he fail.

But i wish Doc can answer like him on post game. Keep it short and just give some random stats like “i have to keep running it despite my team is losing because its the league best 5 man unit”.

[76ciology]

I also dont know if the refs and league will allow us to steal 2 games at their home.

I believe this is very real, not hyperbole. We've seen this exact kind of thing play out way too often in the NBA. I'm not a gambler, but Boston would probably be a very smart bet tonight. So let's shock the world.

There was a stat Pelton just gave on Windy’s podcast regarding this, and thats why he thinks GSW will win next game. I just cant remember what haha

[76ciology]

Just random or maybe not.

One of my favorite quotes.

“You must take your opponent into a deep dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one”. - Mikhail Tal

[HardenToSixers]

I think there is almost no risk to Embiid playing stiff, Tim Duncan basketball for 20 minutes. I think it would be a great burst for the team to spell Reed. Just tell him to only focus on rim protection, ruthlessly establish deep post position on offense for an immediate one dribble shot if they do not help, and if a double comes IMMEDIATELY pass out (like he has been much better at doing this year).

No guarding on the perimeter. No dribbling in from the 3 point line. Preserve yourself but still help the team.

Unfortunately I don't think that is a style of play he will be willing to do or a tactic we will use.

[ProcessDoctor]

McDaniels has been really underwhelming in the playoffs. He’s posting a 0% STL and BLK.

I think we ought to just let him walk if his production doesn’t pick up. I think we keep Niang and then acquire another defensive forward to backup Harris/Tucker.

[Slacktard]

Read on Twitter

[Zumramania]

I think there is almost no risk to Embiid playing stiff, Tim Duncan basketball for 20 minutes. I think it would be a great burst for the team to spell Reed. Just tell him to only focus on rim protection, ruthlessly establish deep post position on offense for an immediate one dribble shot if they do not help, and if a double comes IMMEDIATELY pass out (like he has been much better at doing this year).

No guarding on the perimeter. No dribbling in from the 3 point line. Preserve yourself but still help the team.

Unfortunately I don't think that is a style of play he will be willing to do or a tactic we will use.

I agree. If the team is this good with Reed, especially with Reed gaining more experience, the team should be much better with Joel, but I don't think we are there yet. In an interview before G1 with the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla also said that the Sixers play more freely without Joel, that there is more ball movement. I think we are yet to find a way to better integrate Embiid. The biggest problem I would say is that he is a center, but he tries to play like a wing (dribbling in from the 3 point line etc.). If he would reduce his usage, both his injury risk would decrease and the team would benefit from it.

[76ciology]

Read on Twitter

Celtics in 4.

[HardenGoat]

Wow. I think I was wrong about the extent of his injury. It appears he will play tonight barring any set backs. This is good news!

[76ciology]

Watch on YouTube

[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.

Shouldn’t have played Biid. He clearly can’t jump on Rebs. He only have 3 rebs, which is concerning.

Well atleast we show the changes in Celts defense (JB on Harden) and Celts offense (less passing and better drives; Horford shooting 3s to punish Biid’s lack of mobility).

[Negrodamus]

Defense strat remains the same: force them to drive. Hope Embiid can stay out of foul trouble and can alter shots.

[76ciology]

Sixers will win G3. Will be confirmed if NBA media talks sh*t about this team leading to G3.

[Arsenal]

Defense strat remains the same: force them to drive. Hope Embiid can stay out of foul trouble and can alter shots.

Agree. Need to run them off the line.

[76ciology]

Sixers +470 to win the title, was +450 prior to this game. But I dont know if this will change heading to G4.

[M2J]

Glad he returned. Got his sea legs back. Feels the intensity of the playoffs. Get a better idea for next game. He looked fine for the most part. The blocks show his abilities to get off the ground.

I'm just hoping to see them put a game or two together where they put it all together offensively and defensively.

[Ferry Avenue]

Last night was worrisome in terms of this team's ability to beat Boston in this series. There shouldn't be a single game in a playoff series in which a team takes the court in an apathetic manner and gets absolutely overcome and blown away by the opposing team's will to win, yet that's what this team did last night. It makes me question whether it has what it takes to rise to the occasion when necessary. I would've felt much better about even a 10-point win by Boston last night, as I expected Boston to win regardless.

30+ however is concerning. The team should have too much pride woven into the fabric of its identity to permit that. Doc Rivers made a tactical error in my opinion in sitting the starters at the end of the game and allowing the game to continue in that manner. There should've been an effort to achieve a "respectable loss" there, as that's far more consistent with a winning identity. An apathetic forfeit of the game allows a loser mentality to seep into the team. In a regular season game that wouldn't matter much, but in a playoff series a team needs to play at a high level throughout, and you simply cannot allow your team to coast in that way and resign itself to a blowout loss.