The Philadelphia 76ers were not about to let the Boston Celtics knock them out of the playoffs on their home court. Facing elimination, the 76ers defeated the Celtics 82-75 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The series will return to Boston on Sat. for a vital Game 7. The winner will move on to to face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 7 is scheduled to tip-off at 8:00 EST and will be televised nationally on ABC.
The Celtics are 2-1 at home in the series. After a pair of 1-point games at the TD Garden to start the series, the Celtics crushed the 76ers 101-85 at home in Game 5. Oddsmakers seem to think the Celtics have a huge edge in Game 7. Boston comes in favored by 6-points over the 76ers with the total set at 170 points. For the latest on this matchup, just click here.
Philadelphia
I have to admit, I have been dogging the 76ers from the start. Coming into this series, I did not think Philadelphia would get past Game 5. After the Celtics blowout win in Game 5 at home, I gave the 76ers little chance of winning Game 6. While it's going to be extremely hard to win Game 7 on the road (happens less than 20% of the time), I think the 76ers have a legit shot at pulling off the upset.
There is not a true superstar on the 76ers roster, which is why I didn't think they would make it this far in the playoffs. However , this is an especially young and talented team that understands the concept of team basketball on both ends of the floor. Offensively the 76ers are very balanced, and it showed in their Game 6 win at home. While Jrue Holiday had a team-high 20 points, Philadelphia had 6 different players score at least 9 points. While the Celtics rely heavily on a few players to do the majority of their scoring, the 76ers have all kinds of options.
The focus for the 76ers shouldn't be on the offensive end, it's about how well the entire team plays defensively. In their last game at Boston, they allowed the Celtics to score 101 points on 52.2% shooting. In Game 6, they held the Celtics to 75 points on 33.3% shooting. Who wins this game, will be decided by which 76ers defense shows up for Game 7.
Boston
Whether or not the Celtics are able to beat the 76ers on Saturday, I don't like their chances of getting past Miami in the subsequent round. I have not been impressed by how this team has played in this series. It started when the Celtics lost Game 2 at home. This team understands how important home court is in the playoffs. The one thing the Celtics have managed to do, just like the 76ers, is answer after a loss. In fact , neither team in this series has been able to win two games in a row. Boston has done an excellent job of recovering from a loss. After that loss in Game 2, they went into Philadelphia and won Game 3 107-91. A similar result happened after they blew a 15-point lead in Game 4, as they answered with a 101-85 win in Game 5.
For that trend to continue in Game 7, Boston will need to find some answers offensively. In Game 6, Paul Pierce had a game-high 24 points and Kevin Garnett finished up with 20 points. Normally when those two score 20 or more the Celtics are in good shape, but they did not get any help from the remainder of the team. Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen each finished with just nine points and Mickael Pietrus was the only reserve to even score a point and he had just five. The Celtics were simply not making shots. If you take away Garnett and Pierce, who went 14 of 31 from the floor, the rest of the team shot just 12 of 47 (25.5%).
Not only do the Celtics need to get more production from the offense, but they need to step it up a notch defensively. I am a little worried that the length of this series has taken a heavy toll on the old legs of Boston's star players. While the Celtics were forced to take long jump shots, The 76ers were attacking the hoop and getting a lot of easy shots right around the rim. If the same thing happens in Game 7, Boston is in some serious trouble.
The Celtics are 2-1 at home in the series. After a pair of 1-point games at the TD Garden to start the series, the Celtics crushed the 76ers 101-85 at home in Game 5. Oddsmakers seem to think the Celtics have a huge edge in Game 7. Boston comes in favored by 6-points over the 76ers with the total set at 170 points. For the latest on this matchup, just click here.
Philadelphia
I have to admit, I have been dogging the 76ers from the start. Coming into this series, I did not think Philadelphia would get past Game 5. After the Celtics blowout win in Game 5 at home, I gave the 76ers little chance of winning Game 6. While it's going to be extremely hard to win Game 7 on the road (happens less than 20% of the time), I think the 76ers have a legit shot at pulling off the upset.
There is not a true superstar on the 76ers roster, which is why I didn't think they would make it this far in the playoffs. However , this is an especially young and talented team that understands the concept of team basketball on both ends of the floor. Offensively the 76ers are very balanced, and it showed in their Game 6 win at home. While Jrue Holiday had a team-high 20 points, Philadelphia had 6 different players score at least 9 points. While the Celtics rely heavily on a few players to do the majority of their scoring, the 76ers have all kinds of options.
The focus for the 76ers shouldn't be on the offensive end, it's about how well the entire team plays defensively. In their last game at Boston, they allowed the Celtics to score 101 points on 52.2% shooting. In Game 6, they held the Celtics to 75 points on 33.3% shooting. Who wins this game, will be decided by which 76ers defense shows up for Game 7.
Boston
Whether or not the Celtics are able to beat the 76ers on Saturday, I don't like their chances of getting past Miami in the subsequent round. I have not been impressed by how this team has played in this series. It started when the Celtics lost Game 2 at home. This team understands how important home court is in the playoffs. The one thing the Celtics have managed to do, just like the 76ers, is answer after a loss. In fact , neither team in this series has been able to win two games in a row. Boston has done an excellent job of recovering from a loss. After that loss in Game 2, they went into Philadelphia and won Game 3 107-91. A similar result happened after they blew a 15-point lead in Game 4, as they answered with a 101-85 win in Game 5.
For that trend to continue in Game 7, Boston will need to find some answers offensively. In Game 6, Paul Pierce had a game-high 24 points and Kevin Garnett finished up with 20 points. Normally when those two score 20 or more the Celtics are in good shape, but they did not get any help from the remainder of the team. Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen each finished with just nine points and Mickael Pietrus was the only reserve to even score a point and he had just five. The Celtics were simply not making shots. If you take away Garnett and Pierce, who went 14 of 31 from the floor, the rest of the team shot just 12 of 47 (25.5%).
Not only do the Celtics need to get more production from the offense, but they need to step it up a notch defensively. I am a little worried that the length of this series has taken a heavy toll on the old legs of Boston's star players. While the Celtics were forced to take long jump shots, The 76ers were attacking the hoop and getting a lot of easy shots right around the rim. If the same thing happens in Game 7, Boston is in some serious trouble.
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