ECSF: P2 | (2) Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (3) | BOS 3-0

[KamikazeK]

Bucks in 6.

[Triple M]

i don't care what anyone says the Sixers are still a scary opponent, so much so that while i was watching the game i had my laptop open tracking Embiid's foul because i thought his first foul might have been his 2nd. What surprised me in game 1 was;

1. Embiid playing limited minuets in the 1st quarter because i think the Celtics really established the tone of the game after Embiid sat down. The first half of the first quarter felt more like the two teams were feeling each other out but the Celtics really capitalized any time Embiid was out of the game.

2. The Sixers defense seemed way more porous than i was expecting which the Celtics took advantage of by generated a bunch of in rhythm shots. Beyond the defense i feel like their energy, pace, and overall compete was low on both ends. Brett Brown says "his team was out of character" and i think he is right in that assessment and going forward if you want to slow down young players like Rozier and Tatum than running them around multiple screens should impact their rhythm on defense.

Areas that didn't surprise me as much were;

That the Sixers shot poorly, i think i mentioned the same thing in the Heat/Philly series when a poster mentioned that the Sixers wont shoot 20% again well they just did in game 1 and while they might not produce the same exact results i feel the Sixers shooting will vary depending on a few factors, i.e. if the sixers continue to take long contested shots early in the clock then they might not shoot their way to success in this series. Also keep in mind that for a young Sixers team playing in Boston's environment was a first, no disrespect to Miami but the Boston crowd was way more lively which energize the C's and you could see the difference between a flat Philly team and the Home team.

[TheNewEra]

If Covington plays like he did again might need a lineup switch. Use Simmons at the 3 and get a guard at the 1. Tatum being guarded by JJ is a fail.

[titlebound1]

I don't think Philly will be able to hide JJ on defense. It was hilarious watching him "guard" Tatum. It could be even worse once Brown is out there. Still no answer for Horford either.

Celtics should continue letting Embiid do his thing and just close out on the shooters. The Philly wings are not athletic enough to create space. Embiid strikes me as the kind of dude who is going to get frustrated. And it's only a matter of time until Smart starts getting under Simmons' skin. We saw a bit of it last night

[Curmudgeon]

Actually it was Simmons getting under Smart's skin. Simmons threw the elbow first, and it should have been a double foul. As usual, the player who retaliates gets whistled, not the instigator.

[Triple M]

another thing that didn't surprise me is how Rozier and Tatum preformed to a degree, because while the raw output was great I really felt that Celtics had an advantage 1-3 going into game 1. I think the Sixers need to run Terry and Tatum when they are matched up against the Sixers shooters all game long and let them feel a fair share of physical but legal screens.

[GordanFreeman]

Dammit, I meant Sixers in 6 but voted Celtics in 6.

Don't worry, it's more accurate that way! Na I'm kidding. I got Celts in 7 after witnessing yesterday's game. Stevens is an amazing coach. I love how calm and collected and supportive he is.

[hookshot199]

i don't care what anyone says the Sixers are still a scary opponent, so much so that while i was watching the game i had my laptop open tracking Embiid's foul because i thought his first foul might have been his 2nd. What surprised me in game 1 was;

1. Embiid playing limited minuets in the 1st quarter because i think the Celtics really established the tone of the game after Embiid sat down. The first half of the first quarter felt more like the two teams were feeling each other out but the Celtics really capitalized any time Embiid was out of the game.

2. The Sixers defense seemed way more porous than i was expecting which the Celtics took advantage of by generated a bunch of in rhythm shots. Beyond the defense i feel like their energy, pace, and overall compete was low on both ends. Brett Brown says "his team was out of character" and i think he is right in that assessment and going forward if you want to slow down young players like Rozier and Tatum than running them around multiple screens should impact their rhythm on defense.

Areas that didn't surprise me as much were;

That the Sixers shot poorly, i think i mentioned the same thing in the Heat/Philly series when a poster mentioned that the Sixers wont shoot 20% again well they just did in game 1 and while they might not produce the same exact results i feel the Sixers shooting will vary depending on a few factors, i.e. if the sixers continue to take long contested shots early in the clock then they might not shoot their way to success in this series. Also keep in mind that for a young Sixers team playing in Boston's environment was a first, no disrespect to Miami but the Boston crowd was way more lively which energize the C's and you could see the difference between a flat Philly team and the Home team.

Redick was having trouble defending Tatum. Why he was on Tatum in the first place is mind-boggling. Smart will have a game or two when he makes his threes. But generally he doesn't. Redick has to play Smart and should be inserted in the lineup when Smart's in the lineup. And Simmons or Covington have to play Tatum.

[dukes_wild]

Still think Philly wins this series.

[sixerswillrule]

Still think Philly wins this series.

I don't know, has a team ever won a series after being down 1-0? This one might be over.

[Curmudgeon]

Still think Philly wins this series.

Maybe, but only if they find an answer to Rozier and Tatum-- not to mention Brown when he returns. I have no idea what the Sixers' answer might be.

[dukes_wild]

Still think Philly wins this series.

I don't know, has a team ever won a series after being down 1-0? This one might be over.

Not trying to make some crazy hot take by that comment, just saying people are really overreacting. Rozier/Tatum/Horford all had what could end up being their best games of the series, while Philly couldn't play any worse tbh

Philly is not shooting 19% from 3 again this series that's for sure.

[Celts17Pride]

Joel with 31 but feels like the C’s focused more on stopping Simmons on the break and covering the 3pt shooters.

Which means Joel's 31 points meant nothing. That was the Celtics game plan. Stop Simmons on the break, cover the 3 point shooters, let Embiid do whatever he wants. Victory.

[DBurks2818]

Miami was the worst team, by far, in the playoffs of all 16 teams out there. It wasn't even close.

Unnecessary hyperbole. They're (IMO) better teams than both the Bucks and Wizards. Their downfall was the fact that not only was Philly a bad matchup for them with Whiteside having regressed, but the Sixers ended the season as the NBA's hottest team.

[JShuttlesworth]

I said Boston in 6 before the series started, but I didn't expect the game I saw last night. To a certain extent, Philly has been overrated coming into the playoffs, and even more so after Round 1. Thats not to say they aren't a good team, but their best players are young and inexperienced, no matter what they try and say to make people feel otherwise.

Let's see how Philly bounces back for Game 2. I expect this to be a good series.

[RiseOfTheEmpire]

I don't think Philly will be able to hide JJ on defense. It was hilarious watching him "guard" Tatum. It could be even worse once Brown is out there. Still no answer for Horford either.

Celtics should continue letting Embiid do his thing and just close out on the shooters. The Philly wings are not athletic enough to create space. Embiid strikes me as the kind of dude who is going to get frustrated. And it's only a matter of time until Smart starts getting under Simmons' skin. We saw a bit of it last night

Yet Brad Stevens had the Knicks G league castoff running point guard against Simmons and he helped push the lead to 17 at the end of the third/beginning of fourth.

I lost money last night but I wasn't even mad....like one of those things where somebody insults you, but he's soooo good you're not even offended, you're impressed by the creativity.

Stevens is a great coach, not only his x's and o's, but to have that team on a leash and have them playing for him like pit bulls...that's a squad.

[Curmudgeon]

LOL, we see Stevens keeping his other triple-double machine, Greg Monroe, on the bench, waiting to spring him on the unsustpecting Sixers at the most opportune moment,

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Celtics in 5.

Philly finally ran into a good team playing at a high level. I don't think Philly has played a team like that in like 2 months.

[Froob]

I’m still sticking with Philly wins but, there was a huge win for us.

Someone tell me if I’m way over base here, but I thought even going in yesterday that Simmons is Philly’s best player. I think you can win with Embiid having a big game like we did last night (although I felt his numbers were a tad decieving, we defended him well) but, if Simmons goes off and has a big game, Philly is near guaranteed to win. Let’s see if we can continue to make his life hell.

[Froob]

Still think Philly wins this series.

I don't know, has a team ever won a series after being down 1-0? This one might be over.

Not trying to make some crazy hot take by that comment, just saying people are really overreacting. Rozier/Tatum/Horford all had what could end up being their best games of the series, while Philly couldn't play any worse tbh

Philly is not shooting 19% from 3 again this series that's for sure.

That’s very true, we did do a good job of guarding the 3 though. And we abused “Bellynelly” so badly on defense he may not be able to play much this series.