To get again to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics needed to get previous the league’s MVP. It was by no means a positive factor in opposition to Joel Embiid.
The Celtics let a possibility slip once they dropped Game 1 to the 76ers, who didn’t have Embiid as he nursed an damage. Embiid returned for Game 2, and although the Celtics nonetheless beat him to take a 2-1 sequence lead, he was nonetheless an issue. His dominance propelled the Sixers to a 3-2 lead. Joe Mazzulla needed to make an adjustment to restrict him, inserting Robert Williams into the beginning lineup because the Celtics went huge to fight Embiid.
It labored. And the Celtics in the end outlasted Embiid. They wore him down and despatched the MVP packing for the summer time. While Jayson Tatum acquired MVP chants all afternoon inside a raucous TD Garden, the precise MVP had his worst recreation of the sequence. He was a whole non-factor, ending with 15 factors on 5-for-18 capturing, and committing 4 turnovers.
For the whole lot of the sequence, Al Horford took the problem. Though he could also be ageing, turning 37 in a couple of weeks, he succeeded and in the end gained one of many hardest battles of his profession.
“Just try to make everything as difficult as I could,” Horford mentioned. “He’s the MVP of the league for a reason and how much pressure he can put on your defense and so many things he can do. So I was just out there trying to fight for my life and trying to make an impact, and I understood that in this series it wasn’t going to be my offense. It was more defensively that I had to take that challenge and defend him for us to have a chance.”
While Horford definitely held his personal in opposition to Embiid earlier than then, the change to start out Williams modified all the pieces. The Celtics returned to their defensive identification that fueled them to the NBA Finals. Horford and his teammates have been allowed to gamble, to be extra aggressive with Williams as a safety blanket. Embiid bought too snug earlier within the sequence. Then the Celtics made his life a nightmare on Sunday by throwing a number of coverages at him.
It sparked the Celtics to their two finest defensive performances of the season. Stopping Embiid, who appeared to put on down because the sequence progressed, was central to it.
“When we were down 3-2, we made an adjustment, but it opened up their minds,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzula mentioned. “It opened up the connectivity to have the ability to do a bunch of various stuff, whether or not it was doubling from totally different areas, whether or not it was going small on Embiid after which switching the matchup in the midst of the possession, whether or not it was the rotations we made.
“So credit to our guys for just being open-minded, being connected, and you can’t guard those guys one way, you’ve got to do different things. So with their effort and communication, it really helped do that.”
Interesting timing
About two hours earlier than tipoff of Game 7, ESPN reported that the league’s officiating recreation report shared with groups from Game 6 confirmed that there was a large disparity in officiating errors. According to the report, there have been 13 officiating errors disadvantaging 76ers to only 4 disadvantaging the Celtics.
Sixers coach Doc Rivers was requested about it for the sport, and sounded alarmed.
“It was disappointing to see, honestly,” Rivers mentioned earlier than Game 7. “A 13-4 disparity … in a one-point, two-point game, it’s hard to recover from. It really is.”
If it was some sort of tactic from the Sixers to attempt to get some calls in Game 7, it didn’t actually work. Though there have been some questionable calls early on, the Sixers have been known as for extra fouls on Sunday.
“I saw it,” Mazzulla mentioned of the report. “Honestly, we both shot seven free throws in the first half, I really don’t think it was that big of a deal. I think because of the reports or whatever the case may be, it seems louder. It’s like you see the report, you go out in the game, they make three calls, and it’s like, “See?” And that simply wasn’t the case. The free throws have been the identical at half. I assumed it was a well-officiated recreation.”
Mom is aware of finest
Jaylen Brown has been going backwards and forwards carrying his face masks – the one he’s utilizing to guard himself after the facial fracture he suffered earlier this season – in current weeks. He ditched the masks throughout Game 4 in opposition to the Hawks, however put it again on for Game 5. He took it off once more in Game 6 in opposition to the Sixers, however had it on once more to start Sunday’s Game 7.
After enjoying with the masks on within the first quarter, Brown took it off to start the second. Then, he bought hit within the face by James Harden on a flagrant foul that turned the momentum within the second quarter. So, is the masks gone?
“I mean, what you think?” Brown mentioned. “As soon as I took it off I took an elbow right to the bridge of my nose. My mom’s probably like, ‘See, you should have kept it on.’ But we’ll see. I got used to playing with it. Feels weird kind of getting ready for a game without it. But we’ll see as the series goes on.” …
There have been some particular company on the Garden for Sunday’s Game 7 with some Patriots taste. Julian Edelman, Robert Kraft and Matthew Slater have been all in attendance. Former Celtics participant Daniel Theis was additionally sitting courtside.
Source: www.bostonherald.com