The Boston Celtics should tip their cap to the Philadelphia 76ers. Beating the Celtics in Game 2 signals that this won't be an easy series. The Celtics may very well win this series. In fact, there's even a possibility that they won't lose again. However, if VJ Edgecombe repeats the dominant performance he had last night, this could go seven.
A rookie being the difference maker in a Celtics-Sixers series sounds ridiculous, but it's happened before. In fact, it appears the shoe may be on the other foot because the Celtics beat the Sixers in 2018 because of their hotshot rookie, Jayson Tatum.
Let's travel to eight years ago when the Celtics and Sixers met up in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Despite being the No. 2 seed with homecourt advantage, the Celtics were largely seen as the underdog because they were coming off a grueling seven-game series against Milwaukee while the Sixers made easy work of Miami.
All signs pointed to the Sixers taking it, but the Celtics had other plans. Not only did they win, but Boston beat Philadelphia in a gentleman's sweep. You know who had a hand in that? Tatum.
In that series alone, he averaged 23.6 points while going up against NBA All-Defense members Robert Covington and Ben Simmons. He wasn't the only reason why Boston handled their business against Philadelphia - this series definitely convinced the Sixers to chase Al Horford the year after this - but Tatum proved from the jump that he was ready for the moment.
More than that, the Celtics would not have won, let alone won as quickly as they did, if it weren't for Tatum. Now they face a similar dilemma with Edgecombe.
Edgecombe's consistency will be X-Factor in this series
Edgecombe went off last night. Like seriously, he couldn't miss, shooting 12-for-20 from the field, which included hitting six threes. He is a very promising prospect, but there's justified skepticism that he will do it again.
In Game 1, he shot six-for-16 from the field, including missing all five of his three-point attempts. It's fair to say from these two games that he's not as good as he looked last night (yet Sixers fans, yet), but he's also not nearly as bad as he looked.
And that could be the difference in this series. Boston has emphasized stopping Tyrese Maxey and letting players like Edgecombe beat them. That worked like a charm in Game 1 and a hot streak stopped it from working in Game 2. As impressive as he was, Boston was also ice cold from deep as team (sans Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown), which played a decisive factor in the Sixers victory.
Edgecombe staying hot would keep the Sixers in this series, but whether it would guarantee them wins is another story. Last night was frustrating for the Celtics, but they are talented enough to withstand another Edgecombe explosion if it comes to that.
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