The Philadelphia 76ers will be playing the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. Here’s how they match up.
After beating out the Miami Heat in five games, the Philadelphia 76ers will head to Boston to start the second round. Game 1 will be on Monday, Apr. 30, at 8 PM E.T. on TNT.
STARTERS — ADVANTAGE SIXERS
Philly had the most efficient starting five in the NBA this season and now will have Joel Embiid back in the lineup and adjusted to playing with a mask. Boston counters with their highly talented young players — Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Al Horford anchors Boston’s interior defensively.
Give the edge to the Sixers because all five starters are capable of scoring, while Boston hasn’t gotten much from the power forward spot and Terry Rozier has shown so far to be a much better player at home than on the road. Jaylen Brown’s hamstring may be a problem, as he tweaked it in the Game 7 closeout against Milwaukee.
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BENCH — EVEN
With Marcus Smart returning, Boston can place Smart, Marcus Morris, Aaron Baynes Semi Ojeleye and Greg Monroe on the court. All players are capable and can both score and defend. Boston’s bench may be shorted if Jaylen Brown cannot go because of injury. Boston will use a combination of big men to play Embiid hoping to disrupt him offensively.
Philadelphia has two high quality substitutes in Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova, but there is a drop off after those two. Amir Johnson will spot Embiid and Justin Anderson and T.J. McConnell will pick up minutes in the backcourt.
Philadelphia is fortunate that in the playoffs teams shorten their bench and the timeouts are longer.
COACHING — EVEN
Both teams believe in passing and sharing the ball. Boston will go more one-on-one at multiple positions, hoping to beat their primary defender in order to get a teammate an open shot.
Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in the NBA with the most efficient team defense in the league. Boston has adjusted with the loss of Gordon Hayward early in the season and their leader and best player Kyrie Irving. On occasion missing Irving shows as Boston will have trouble scoring.
Brett Brown has done just as good a job with Philadelphia and everyone in Philly has bought in to sharing the ball and team defense. Philadelphia also learned to play and win without Joel Embiid and Brett Brown also showed he is not adverse to changing lineup when the situation warrants.
MATCHUPS — ADVANTAGE SIXERS
Boston is an elite defensive team, however Philadelphia will be a much harder team to defend than Milwaukee. Philadelphia uses constant movement offensively and has an inside game to complement their outside shooters.
Philadelphia also has multiple players that go to the offensive boards, which Milwaukee did not. Philadelphia also has a player in Embiid that can get his own shot if the situation warrants. Also Ben Simmons is learning to back players down from the wing, hoping to find a cutter or get a jump shooter an open look. Don’t expect either Embiid or Simmons to play “tight’ like the Greek Freak did.
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Offensively, Boston relies on creating opportunities for shooters off initial one-on-one moves. Jayson Tatum is an elite offensive one-on-one player.
Philadelphia is also an elite defensive team, especially when Joel Embiid is on the court. Philadelphia does a good job keeping offensive players in front of them and can switch most screen-and-rolls.
How well Boston does in this series in part depends on how well Terry Rozier plays offensively. Rozier will be chasing J.J. Redick or Marco Belinelli all night through screens, so will he have enough to be offensively efficient?
INTANGIBLES — EVEN
Boston has the home-court advantage, but Philadelphia is on a roll and has already won two playoff games on the road. Jaylen Brown may be hampered by an injury and Joel Embiid has had more time to adjust to wearing his mask.
PREDICTION
Philly should win at least one game in Boston and hold their home court.
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PHILLY IN 6.