The Philadelphia 76ers are one win away from making franchise history. After clawing back from a 3-1 deficit, they head to Boston for a winner-take-all Game 7 with a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals on the line.
Interesting note: the Celtics were the first team in NBA history to ever complete a 3-1 comeback, and they did it by defeating the Sixers in 1968. The Celtics did it to the Sixers again in the 1981 Eastern Conference Finals. The Sixers got the better of Boston the very next year, in 1982 and have not beaten Boston in any of their six playoff series since.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (3-3) at Boston Celtics (3-3)
When: 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Watch: NBC, Peacock
The Sixers put together a complete team effort in Game 6 and essentially had control from tipoff. Joel Embiid did not replicate his dominant scoring from Game 5, but his gravity has changed the entire outlook of the series for the Sixers, and they should feel very confident in their chances of actually pulling this off.
With Embiid's size advantage, he can dictate the Sixers actions in the half-court, and he put on a masterclass in Game 6. Once he discovered that in Game 5, Boston had no one to bang down low with him, he attacked his individual matchups and picked apart double-teams to find open shooters. That was on full display in Game 6 as the big man tallied eight assists. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George continued their strong, efficient play to keep Boston at arm's length for the entire game, and they even managed to spell Embiid with some floor time due to the margin they created.
Oddly enough, one of the keys to this series for the Sixers is if VJ Edgecombe hits a three-point shot. In the Sixers three wins this series, he shot a combined 10-22 from distance. In Game 6 he finally got one to fall late and it was one of the final daggers that led the Sixers to their comfortable victory. In the Sixers three losses, he is 0-16 from deep. While he may be a rookie, the Sixers rely heavily on Edgecombe's contributions on both ends of the floor, and he needs to show up if the Sixers want to win.
The Celtics have fallen back into some of their bad habits over the last two games, and the Sixers smelled blood and took advantage. Boston is a shot-taking team, but over the last two games, they have not been a shot-making team, and they have pressed to find an offensive flow as a result.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are struggling to find easy shots, often settling for contested jumpers because they cannot consistently get a full head of steam going to the rim with Paul George and Kelly Oubre draped all over them. Derrick White finally got some of his shots to fall, which is a welcome sight for the Celtics, but with nobody else along for the ride with him in Game 6, it did not matter.
One thing to monitor is Jayson Tatum's current "questionable" status. He appeared to pull his left calf, thankfully not the recently surgically repaired one, and did not return to Game 6 afterward. Tatum said it was nothing he was too worried about ahead of Game 7, but time will tell.
Game 7 is a weird phenomenon in sports, something the Sixers and their fans know all too well. If they want to change their fortunes and finally win one of these things, it is imperative that they keep dancing with what brought them.
Tyrese Maxey has given Boston's defense fits all series long. He is too fast for Derrick White to contain off the dribble; he is torching their drop coverage looks coming off screens and firing from deep; and he has arguably been the best player in the series so far. That has to continue in Game 7 if the Sixers are going to emerge victorious. Jordan Walsh has done a very admirable job defending Maxey in this series, but increasing his minutes would take away court time from their reserve bigs that they have to throw at Embiid.
Paul George has turned back the clock this series. He has shown up in every game on offense and has been an absolute menace on defense. He is the perfect prototype of a player to guard Tatum and Brown, and the job he has done on that end of the floor this series is as much a reason they find themselves in Game 7 as anything else. Any slippage in his play on either end of the floor will greatly hamper the Sixers ability to win.
Joel Embiid is going to be the fulcrum that truly decides this game. If he can positively impact the game as he did in Games 5 and 6, the Sixers should win this game. If he turtles as he has in past Game 7s, or simply does not have it going on Saturday, the task becomes much tougher, though not impossible.
Assuming Jayson Tatum plays but is hampered by that calf injury, the Sixers need to attack him on defense as much as they can. The Celtics spent almost the entire season learning how to play and win without Tatum- they will not bat an eye if he is not able to give them the contributions he has to this point. The Sixers cannot beat around the bush when it comes to testing Tatum's legs in this game.
If the Sixers complete the comeback, it would stand as the defining series of the Process era—and a potential turning point for the franchise. Whatever happens after that, this season would have to be viewed as a pretty resounding success.
The winner of the game and series advances to play the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. If Boston wins, they will host the first two games. If the Sixers win, they will head to Madison Square Garden for the first two.
MORE: Paul George calls Kelly Oubre the Sixers’ ‘unsung hero’ after Game 6 win
