The Celtics and Sixers tied 2-2: What needs to change ahead of Game 5?

The Boston Celtics struggled for the majority of Game 4 in Philadelphia and even trailed the Sixers by 16 points at one point. Nonetheless, in pure Celtics fashion, Boston stormed back in the fourth quarter to take the lead back.

Following the comeback, as the clock ticked down in the fourth quarter, it felt like the C’s game to lose, and that they did.

The Boston Celtics gave up a fourth-quarter comeback

Throughout all of Game 4, the Celtics had difficulty getting stops on the Sixers, all while their offense seemingly looked stagnant from the jump. An obvious formula for disaster, especially for a team with championship aspirations. Boston’s struggles put the team in a position to constantly battle an uphill climb. Not to mention Celtics’ star Jayson Tatum scored only two points in the first half. Tatum managed to get it going in the second half to ignite a Celtics rally, but ultimately a mixture of defensive breakdowns and a failure to beat the buzzer on a game-winning shot stood between the Cs and a 3-1 lead.

The stars seemed to align for the 76ers to tie the series and head back to Boston, turning the duel into a best-of-three series. And although the Boston Celtics fell short in their comeback effort, the team has plenty of positives to take back to Beantown.

What needs to change ahead of Game 5?

Offensively, the Celtics seemed to find success towards the end of their road trip to Philadelphia. Throughout the Sixers different defensive coverages and zone schemes, Boston managed to exploit the Philly defense, which caused Doc Rivers and the Sixers to switch back to man-to-man. With this, the Cs were able to find mismatches and take advantage of favorable matchups.

Boston needs to continue utilizing their versatility on offense and put stress on the 76ers’ defense. There were too many occasions where the Celtics allowed the Philadelphia defense to dictate what was run on offense and affect the shot selection, something that cannot happen moving forward.

The Cs are one of the few teams in the league that has the ability to roll out a five-man lineup with the versatility to stretch the floor and knock down shots. With this team’s offensive firepower, Boston should have no issue finding ways to score on a Sixers defense with a banged-up Joel Embiid as the defensive anchor.

Another offensive issue that needs to be addressed is the lack of shots for Jaylen Brown in the second half of games. Brown often starts games off hot and fizzles out in the second half due to a lack of touches. The Celtics star entered halftime with 16 points, yet only finished the game with 23 points. Between the fourth quarter and overtime, Brown only attempted three shots. If the Cs want any chance to defeat the Sixers, both of the Jays need to be heavily involved.

Defensively, the Boston Celtics have been inconsistent throughout the whole postseason. However, in a late-game timeout, head coach Joe Mazzulla’s challenge to his squad to find another level defensively seemed to work. The group showed flashes of their regular-season defense in the fourth quarter and at one point seemed to be putting together a block party.

Al Horford and the Celtics’ physicality on Embiid seemed to take the MVP out of rhythm and cause the big man to overthink in the paint, leading to missed shots and bad decision-making. There’s no secret that the Sixers live and die by the success of Harden and Embiid, and if Boston can find a way to consistently apply pressure to Philly’s stars, the Cs should have no problem finding success in front of their hometown fans at TD Garden for Game 5 on Tuesday.

It’s to the point in the Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup where mistakes need to be minimal, or they become costly. If the Celtics want to continue their run to claim the Larry O’Brien Trophy, they’ll need to adjust and execute their game plan to keep hope alive. The last thing this team needs to do is head back to Philadelphia on the short end of the stick for a do-or-die elimination game.