The Boston Celtics need to repeat their success on Joel Embiid for a chance against the 76ers
The Boston Celtics go into their second round series facing the hottest team in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers are on one of the most impressive stretches and might even be the favorites to come out of the East right now.
That being said, the Celtics can still get some confidence from knowing they won the season series 3-1, and there was a pretty solid indication of what needs to be done to win.
Joel Embiid had one truly dominant game against the Celtics this season, and that was the lone game they won. He did miss one of their games, but the Celtics effectively shut him down in two of their wins, and that needs to be the priority for this series.
Ben Simmons presents a world of troubles, but Boston’s front court defense should be the deciding factor in this game. We know that Al Horford is going to be the most important, and he has been successful against the most talented unicorns all season long. The problem is Horford cannot do it on his own and you also have to think about the other shooters the 76ers have playing alongside Embiid, some of which were not on the team when they played in the regular season.
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One big worry right now is that the Celtics might not even know when they are going to have out there next to Horford. There is a dilemma between Aron Baynes and Semi Ojeleye, and that could end up being the most important rotation decision in this series.
In the two victories where Embiid played, the rotation looked a lot different. Ojeleye did not even appear in one of the wins, and Baynes played just 14 minutes in both games. Later on, when Embiid dominated with 26 points 16 rebounds and 6 assists, Ojeleye had no impact and Baynes saw 15 minutes.
It is hard for Stevens to really trust either of these guys with a significant role, but they need to make it work. In the regular season meetings, they also had the benefit of using Daniel Theis. His defensive versatility was vital when they played the 76ers. Baynes and Ojeleye are going to be the ones to take on those minutes, and at least one of them needs to be able to stay on the court for extended periods of time.
Horford will always hold his own, but he has a tremendous amount of defensive responsibility. Horford is always needed to help players around him, and things start to break down if he does not get good defense from whoever else is playing with him in the front court. Add on that Jaylen Brown will not be there to help, and the front court’s ability to shut down Embiid will be a determining factor in this series.
Embiid is too good and the Celtics need to have multiple players to help account for him. He is the player most likely to destroy this game for the Celtics, and the number one priority has to be making sure he is being contained the same way he was when they kept him under 20 points in their first two meetings this season.
Next: 76ers dangerous from deep
The 76ers are the best version of this team we have seen all year long, and looking to regular season success could be dangerous. That being said, we have seen the Celtics with these pieces to slow down Embiid, and that is the first and last important step in finding a way to get out of the second round.