The Boston Celtics are collapsing in on themselves, now having dropped back-to-back games against the Philadelphia 76ers. What was supposed to be a quick series for Boston has now turned into a slog, with Philly bouncing back from a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7.
It’s do-or-die time. No more second chances. The Celtics had several opportunities to close out this series, but now their backs are against the wall, and momentum is not in their favor.
Boston held a 13-point lead in the third quarter of Game 5, a potential close-out game. It’s been all downhill from there, though. The Sixers turned Boston’s 13-point lead into as much as a 17-point deficit, ultimately stealing the game by 16. So, what changed? Why was Philly able to snatch control of the series?
Well, as my CelticsBlog colleagues have pointed out, from a tactical perspective, Boston is no longer playing Celtics basketball. The root cause of the issue becomes clearer when we look at how Boston’s bench closed out Game 6, but the problem isn’t with the bench.
In Game 6, Joe Mazzulla pulled the starters at the 10:24 mark of the fourth quarter when Boston was facing a 23-point deficit. Many saw this as a waving of the white flag, but I wasn’t so sure.
A lineup of Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, Ron Harper Jr., Jordan Walsh, and Luka Garza took the floor. Outside of Payton, no one in that lineup had a consistent role this season. They were thrown in to the fire at what almost felt like random stretches of a game, and they all had success in those stretches. They all gave every stint – every possession – their all. That’s what led to Boston’s 56-win season, obviously alongside the winning plays of the starters.
I had no reason to expect that it would be any different when they took the floor together in the 4th quarter of Game 6. And what do you know? They faced off against Philly’s starters, and shaved off as many as 11 points from the deficit in just over 3 minutes, making it an 88-76 lead for the Sixers with 7:10 left on the clock.
Ultimately, Boston’s bench wasn’t able to take it any further, a 106-93 final score, but we were able to see exactly what the Celtics were missing that put them in the 23-point hole in the first place. Effort. Connectivity. Determination.
The “Stay Ready” group earned their name for a reason. They don’t know when they’ll take the floor, but they know exactly what they’re going to give to the game when they do – everything. It’s what the starters have been missing in these past two games.
Now, let me be perfectly clear. I am not questioning the starters’ heart, skill, desire, or anything of the sort. Celtics fans are blessed to have a team of such high-character players, and that too, players whose only goal is to win. I’m not going to let one disappointing series make me start doubting that.
But the starters don’t seem to be playing with the same sense of urgency as the bench is. They have experience, no doubt, but it’s felt like they’ve been going through the motions. Jaylen Brown said he thinks that Boston is “playing into [Philly’s] hands a little.” Too much isolation and matchup hunting, lapses on defense, miscommunications – it’s all amplified under the spotlight when the shots aren’t falling.
When the bench came in, it felt like there was finally some flow again. There wasn’t any overdribbling, the ball moved from side to side, everyone was making the extra pass, and the Celtics were getting some very high-quality shots. Not all of them dropped, which happens, but you also can’t expect the bench to be perfect. If the starters played the same way, you’d imagine they’d at least find the same success, if not more.
When asked about why they were inserted into the game, Mazzulla had this to say: “Wanted to give the game a different feel. I mean, all year we’ve had 14-15 guys be able to impact winning. Just wanted to give the game a different look.”
Along with the improvements on offense, it also felt like there was more of a defensive presence. The Celtics were attacking loose balls, forcing turnovers, and crashing the boards. It was honestly a much-needed break for me as a fan of the game, finally seeing some more fight after a gut-wrenching first three quarters. It was the only thing that could take the sour taste of the rest of the game out of my mouth.
The thing is, we know the starters are capable of this too. This same group won a championship together just two seasons ago. We need that version of them in Game 7. Boston can’t afford to get off to a slow start. They have to come out swinging from the jump. They have to feed the TD Garden crowd, and put Philly on their heels.
I’ll take this moment to personally call out Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, and even Nikola Vucevic (because they’re all obviously reading this); I don’t care if the shots don’t go down if you follow the right process. If we go out, let’s go out fighting. I believe in you. Play the Celtics basketball we all know and love, and send Philly packing.
