The heartbreaking loss on the last possession of overtime wasn’t how most of us pictured the Boston Celtics’ Final Four of their second-round playoff series against the team. Philadelphia Seventy Sixers. However, sports can be like that. One moment you are riding the crest of a wave. Then, that wave collapses with a thud, and reality starts to pick up again.
For the Celtics, that fact is that they turned down the chance to take a 3-1 series lead and go home to close things out for a rowdy Celtics crowd. Instead, the Celtics are now in a best 2-of-3 competition with an opponent who has the former MVP and current MVP – both of which are starting to make their presence felt.
Doc Rivers drew blood first in Game 4, and now, all eyes will be on Joe Mazzola as he continues to make his way into his first NBA season. I like Counter Strike, though. They are smart, dexterous, quick, and like to set traps, all things that can help you win the battle of brains. As such, let’s take a look at three things that could affect the Celtics’ chances of winning on Tuesday night.
Learn about the side pickup points in Philly
I wrote about this earlier today, so it’s only appropriate that I include it as something we need to keep an eye on. In Game 4, the Sixers found continued success through the first 2.5 quarters by running catch and roll moves on the empty side that occurred on the wing. The Celtics defense struggled to contain James Harden and Joel Embiid as they began attacking space due to the lack of a strong side created by a low man, and quickly, the Sixers two-man game began to look as dangerous as advertised.
Fortunately, the Celtics started to figure things out midway through the third, shut down the Sixers offense, and clawed their way back into the game. Now, the challenge will be to reduce the effectiveness of the scan procedures from the jump. Skipping screens, having an extra or roaming assistant available, and “icing” the ball handler when he goes off the screen will all be handy tools at the Celtics’ disposal.
At this point, it’s pretty clear: limit the Sixers’ sorting game, and you take away their most potent weapon. Having the TD Garden crowd behind you and Joe Mazzulla’s adjustments in your pocket should go a long way to making these screening actions as challenging as possible.
Get Jason Tatum.
Despite all the negative things said about Jayson Tatum’s halftime performance in Game 4, the truth is that he produced a complete game. Dominating the defence, dominating the glass, finding the goalscorer’s touch when his team needed it most – Tatum put on a show.
However, finding a way to get Tatum to go early and avoid his notoriously slow starts could be another way the Celtics can jump out to an early lead. Sure, you’ll probably sacrifice some assists and rebounds from Tatum if you feature him on offense early on. But I’m sure we can all agree that a high-scoring night from the Boston star is exactly what he needs at this point in the postseason.
I connect with 35+ points on the night, with 10 rebounds and 6 assists from Tatum in this game, because when the lights start to brighten he usually finds a way to deliver, and the lights don’t get any brighter than going into a forward game against the Sixers in the postseason.
Get more Jaylen Brown shots in the second half.
There’s really no reason why Jaylen Brown should only take 5 second half shots in a game, let alone a postseason contest where he looked unstoppable around the rim. However, twice in the series Brown found himself serving as a spectator in the latter parts of the games, and this begs the question: “Why aren’t more combos being played for him?”
Surely, Brown holds more value as a scorer than he does as a groundbreaker? get it; Having it on the side of the road is a foolproof way to keep the defense honest and create extra lanes to the edge. However, ideally, shouldn’t Brown be the one tasked with finishing at the edge? After all, this is him And Team Tatum – The entire rotation looks its best when both are given freedom to play their games.
Finding a way to get the ball into the Browns’ hands without limiting Tatum’s ability to influence the game has been an issue since the Brad Stephens era, but that doesn’t mean you ignore the problem and bring one out in every half of the game. So, I’m curious as to how Mazzola looks to solve a problem that has already stymied Boston’s offense in two games of this series.
Final thoughts
I don’t even want to think about having to go back to Philadelphia in win-win mode or go home. So, I’m going to show you the Celtics win tonight. They’ve been a great rebounding team for over a year at this point, so expecting them to come out to TD Garden and take care of business is no small feat.
I don’t expect Harden to have another big game, and Embiid will run out of gas sooner or later. As such, the Celtics should look to build an early lead and then keep the Sixers at arm’s length until there is nothing left in their gas tank. I, for one, want to wake up on Wednesday excited to rewatch and enjoy the potential of the last round of the Eastern Conference, but it all starts with winning Tuesday night.