Are the Boston Celtics in the Philadelphia 76ers heads?

The Boston Celtics extend their winning streak over the Philadelphia 76ers to three, with all victories at ten points or better. Are the Boston Celtics in the Sixers heads?

The Philadelphia 76ers may not be the best NBA team in the Eastern Conference, but I don’t believe this team is as poorly performing as their contests with the Boston Celtics demonstrate. The problem is that the Philadelphia 76ers compete in the NBA Eastern Conference. That means that the road to the NBA Championship must go through Boston at some point. And right now, the Boston Celtics clearly have the Philadelphia 76ers number.

The pattern has developed over the course of three games so far this season. On Friday, October 20, 2017, the Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 102-92. A month later, on November 30, 2017, the Celtics once again throttled the 76ers 108-97. And now, before a sell-out London crowd, the Celtics came back from a 22 point deficit to win handily, 114-103. Three games, three easy wins.

What is the Celtics secret?

Now the question becomes, how do they do it? Are they simply a far superior team? Are the Boston Celtics simply a far better coached team? Or is it psychological? Are the Boston Celtics in the heads of the Philadelphia 76ers? The concerning answer lies in the fact that it may simply be all three factors. And that’s a huge mountain to overcome for these Philadelphia 76ers.

The first thing we cannot do is jump to any conclusions.  The Boston Celtics have won three straight convincingly, but there is a huge difference between three wins and a pattern of success based upon common elements.  In short, are the losses to the Celtics attributable to specific actions taken by the Celtics which repeat in each contest, or is this simply a slump of the Sixers which happens to fall on Celtics games?  Let’s investigate, shall we?

Celtics have a strategy, and it works

Let’s not lose sight of the fact that this Boston Celtics squad is a well constructed group of compatible parts. They have a solid starting five, and a bench which is always capable of at least one player scoring in double digits. And they synchronize defensive strategy.  To combat the incredible effectiveness of Joel Embiid deep in the post, the Celtics collapsed both Al Horford and Aron Baynes on him.

That late double means both Al Horford and Aron Baynes draw the defensive duties on Embiid. In theory, that opens up a Philadelphia 76ers if the ball could find him.  Ah.. if only…

Celtics use Anti-Embiid strategy

Ideally the Philadelphia 76ers could anticipate that defense, and pass to Embiid and then back out to Saric instantly.  That would give the 76ers options to go back to the post, Saric shoot an open shot, or pass back out to Simmons to drive to the basket. But that is still on the chalkboard for now.  So far, the Philadelphia 76ers do nothing to change the rhythm, bait the Celtics, or adapt to what Boston does to regain the advantage.

So the countermeasures wait for another day.  All the while that may be true, the Celtics have crushed Joel Embiid so far.  In the two games Embiid has faced the Celtics, he has attempted 33 shots, and scored on just 10 of those attempts. They have fettered a 48.9 percent shooter to just 30 percent accuracy.  But he is not the only player to struggle.

Counter Celtics moves with countermeasures

The Boston Celitcs come in with specific objectives. Against the Philadelphia 76ers, this team targets Joel Embiid. But they do not focus on him exclusively. They focus their attention towards Robert Covington as well.

Point guard Kyrie Irving is a 6-foot-3 point guard. Robert Covington is a 6-foot-9 wing player. While Irving is quicker, Covington has a significant height and reach advantage.  Which is why Celtics elect that coverage.

In the overall perspective, that gives the Celtics an advantage. It’s a good strategy, as by covering Covington with Irving, their taller players can set up in better position for rebounds.  In three games, the Celtics are crushing the Sixers on the boards at rebounding: 142-129.

Celtics coordinate convincingly, Sixers still struggle

The bottom line is that the Boston Celtics have executed a plan to neutralize what the Philadlephia 76ers do offensively.  Conversely, the Sixers have done no such scheming to effectively shut down Boston.  And with each game, the mindset becomes less fluid and more rigid. At some point, others will ask the very question I pose now.

So this is a pattern which is reaching critical mass. But is it a permanent matter or temporary? Well it depends for the moment.  Before the Philadelphia 76ers can counter a strategy, the team needed to experience a strategy. Now it’s up to the team to rise to the challenge.  And it’s only been this season so far where the Philadelphia 76ers have been good enough for opponents to synchronize that strategy.  Now , a young team is getting good lessons already in NBA post-season play.

The next level

We have discussed the Philadelphia 76ers going to post season, but there is a huge difference in saying so, and in doing.  The reason is not that opponents get tougher, but in the fact that opponents play your team tougher.  This Philadelphia 76ers team is now on the radar of good teams. To win going forward, this team must overcome defenses schemed to prevent that very thing. And to get to post season, the Philadelphia 76ers must win more than half of their remaining games

Can they do it?

Adaptation or extinction

Well that is a huge question. And the bottom line is that the Philadelphia 76ers must adapt. Somehow, that must translate into the Philadelphia 76ers out muscling an NBA playoff team going forward, that is a huge task for this team today.  The team is still building, still developing, still improving.

But that task is now on them, and they are on the clock. To move forward, this team must grow up quickly and fix the egregious errors. Can we simply sit back and give them time? After all, this is a very young team. The answer is no. The Philadlephia 76ers cannot simply sit back and pray that it “comes to them” in the heat of post-season play.

Coach Brown noticed physicality

In his post game, head coach Brett Brown noticed the 76ers were dominated on the boards by the more physical Celtics. That could be partially due to the fact that the Celtics played all 13 eligible players in the game. The 76ers played just 11, but have played fewer players in games due to injuries.

In Philadelphia, once a head coach identifies the issue, the clock begins ticking on resolving it. That is not to say that the team must beat the pants off the Celtics for the next three games. But the team must demonstrate that when Boston runs a double team against Embiid deep in the post, the 76ers have a way to score against that defense. The Sixers are a young team, but there is an expectation of development.

Time for Sixers to grow up

A function of youth? That won’t be a legitimate cause forever, but that truly is a huge component in this rivalry for now. But like any objective, an athlete must elevate their game play to earn the right to advance.  So far this season, several teams have handled the Philadelphia 76ers to the point where the team simply responds in a startled “ouch”.

In the end, for the Philadelphia 76ers to be considered a legitimate playoff team, they must play like one.

Are Celtics in Sixers heads?

Which brings us back to the opening question: Are the Boston Celtics in the heads of the Philadelphia 76ers? If they are not, they should be. A .500 season simply is not good enough to be a stepping stone to NBA post season.  Right now, this Philadelphia 76ers team has some of the pieces. But it’s clear that the team needs a fifth solid starter in this lineup. And the team needs at least one player who can score double digits consistently off the bench.

Next: An underrated contributor to the Sixers win streak? J.J. Redick.

Those are factors the Celtics leverage to win consistently. Those are characteristics the Philaelphia 76ers must address either at the trade deadline or develop within. This is a good Philadelphia 76ers team. And they are on the right track, so don’t think I’ve suddenly joined the ranks of the “Fire Coach Brown!” at every loss. But the Sixers must cross this new bridge.  The Celtics have thrown down the gauntlet at the 76ers feet.  Now, with the NBA trade deadline approaching, the Philadelphia 76ers must respond.