With the Celtics beating the Hawks in game six, the stage is finally set for Philadelphia and Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Sixers have been waiting awhile as they made quick work of the Brooklyn Nets in four games, despite Joel Embiid missing game four due to a sprained knee. Luckily for the Sixers, the Hawks pushing the series to six games allowed for a couple more days of recovery for Embiid and the team. Let’s see what each team needs to accomplish to move to the conference finals.
Sixers Keys to Victories
The Sixers are getting a bit too much hate for their first-round matchup being a team that probably wouldn’t make the playoffs given a full season. They didn’t pick their opponent and they still played very good basketball when it mattered. They did some things against the Nets that can be replicated against the Celtics that will lead to success.
The first thing the Sixers will need is the replication of their three-point shooting. They are tied with Boston for the third-best percentage in round one with 40.6. They didn’t put up as many attempts per game, but 40 percent as a team was great nonetheless. A player in particular whose shooting will be tremendous is Tyrese Maxey. The third-year guard shot 50 percent from three against the Nets and was giving out 21 points per game. Someone on the other side of things is PJ Tucker. He is not expected to do much on offense, but averaging less than one made three per game on nearly four attempts is inexcusable when that’s the only shots you take.
The second thing is to control the rebounding battle like they did in round one. Philadelphia held the Nets to an astounding five second-chance points per game and outrebounded them by 13 a game. Boston has been a strong rebounding team in the first round, but not the monster Philadelphia has been.
Finally, they have to get stronger. It’s the playoffs and referees let the players get more physical. However, if the Sixers thought the Nets were annoying in their defensive approach, imagine a team that is better defensively and light years ahead on offense than that Brooklyn squad. I believe the rest will pay dividends for the team. Doc Rivers to find a way around this Celtics’ defense that can go hot or cold.
Celtics Keys to Victories
The Celtics aren’t necessarily jumping for joy after beating the Hawks in six games. After two games, these teams didn’t look like they played the same level of basketball. After that, the Celtics seemed to be playing a different brand of basketball and allowed the Hawks to flirt around. They need to play like those first two games in every game against Philadelphia or the Sixers will get them out fast.
First and foremost, there is no stopping Embiid. He’s getting the MVP this season. Asking to shut him down is a task too tall for Boston. Something they can control is getting in his way. The Celtics are second in the entire postseason in blocks per game with 7.2. They’re seventh in points allowed in the paint, which isn’t great when considering who they played last series in comparison to Embiid.
The Celtics may have to roll out their double-big lineup of Robert Williams and Al Horford to help swarm Embiid. The Nets tried this with much smaller bodies and he made the right plays out of it, but the Celtics’ length could cause madness.
The second is not only something they did last series but all year. Unload the clip from three-point land because almost no one does it better. When the Celtics’ shots are falling, they’ll jump to a 20-point lead before you can blink. As mentioned before, these two teams are tied for third in the playoffs in three-point percentage. The difference is the Celtics are also third in attempts. The Sixers are 10th. This Boston team needs to continue to space the floor to get open shots.
Finally, the Celtics need to continue to move the ball. Their stars are very good at isolation scoring, but they still only trail the Warriors in assists per game in these playoffs. By passing the ball, the Sixers will have to play everyone honestly. This spreads them out and gives them more attempts to attack an open paint. The paint-scoring part will be a tall task as Philadelphia only allows 35.5 points in the paint per game. It will be up to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to be aggressive and attack the rim.
Final Thoughts
The Celtics have had the Sixers number this season, winning the season series three games to one. These teams have similarly built strengths, but Embiid’s knee is a real concern. Will he play like himself? Will James Harden start shooting better? Can Tobias Harris keep his 20 points per game up? There are too many questions surrounding this Sixers squad that I don’t find with the deep and talented Celtics. Celtics in six games.
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