The Philadelphia 76ers are hosting the Boston Celtics on Friday night, hoping that the momentum from their Game 2 victory carries over and they can take the lead in the best-of-seven series. The key again will be shooting, which the team did very well in Game 2.
Who: Boston Celtics (1-1) at Philadelphia 76ers (1-1)
When: 7 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, Pa.
Watch: Prime Video
After getting blown out in the series opener, things were not looking good as surely Game 2 would be more of the same, helping to quickly push the Sixers closer to the inevitable off-season. Then, a young man named Valdez Drexel Edgecombe stepped onto the court in Boston and decided that, despite having a great rookie year in the league, he had seen enough of Boston and had no ties to past losses.
Edgecombe showed the entire NBA and, more importantly, the Boston Celtics, that he's worthy of his lofty draft status and able to take over games. Shooting 12-20 from the field, including 6-10 on his three-point attempts, Edgecombe finished the night with a team high 30 points and 10 rebounds. While Tyrese Maxey wasn't shooting as well as he'd have liked, there were times during the game where it looked like Edgecombe wouldn't miss.
Paul George joined in on the party with 19 points of his own, Maxey had 29 points, and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 12 points. For the team, what they did, better than at almost any time during the season, is shoot the ball very well. 47.8% from the field and 48.7% on their three-pointers, combined with a defense that was more pesky and disruptive than recent memory can recall, shut down the Celtics, led to a poor shooting night, and allowed the team to steal homecourt advantage from their heated rivals.
After what they did to the Sixers in Game 1 of their series, the Celtics had all the reasons in the world to believe that the second game would be much of the same and they'd be able to coast past a team that's missing its literal biggest piece. They had no idea that Edgecombe was going to another level and didn't seem to figure out a way to slow him down throughout the game. A stifling defense during the regular season was exposed and is a warning sign that they'll have to address by Friday night.
For a team that thoroughly dominated the Sixers on the floor in the first game, only to be unable to buy a bucket in Game 2, the Celtics have to come up with a game plan to negate the speed of the Sixers' backcourt while getting their players better shots. Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Jaylen Brown shot 40% from the floor and 30% on their three-pointer, but as a team, the Celtics shot just 26% from long distance. The issues that came up in the last game will still be there unless they figure out how to get back to their basics of a smothering defense and ball movement to get good looks on the offensive side of the ball.
With all that has happened to the Sixers over the past several years, it would be natural for fans to be discouraged, again, while Joel Embiid is sidelined to start the playoffs. What they didn't count on is how truly great they looked in their last game and returning home with the series tied.
Edgecombe and Maxey just have to continue to operate as they have, with Maxey needing to just convert on his shots at a better rate. The highlights from the two of them would be worth the price of admission. But, if Paul George continues to dial back the clock and Kelly Oubre Jr. is able to keep steady at both ends of the floor, the Sixers have a great chance to take another step closer to winning the series, at home tonight.
The big key for the evening will be the benches. While the Celtics have a well-rounded team, Sixers' coach Nick Nurse has to utilize his lineups when Maxey and Edgecombe are on the bench. Making sure that Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards are moving on both ends of the court and contributing, whether it be scoring or disrupting passing lanes for the Celtics, is going to be the key. The starters will do what they can, but if Grimes and Edwards step up in their minutes, the Sixers could shut down the Celtics' attack.
Sixers 113 - Celtics 109
