The Philadelphia 76ers staved off elimination in Game 5 behind a vintage Joel Embiid performance. Now, with the series shifting back to Philadelphia, the Sixers face a must-win Game 6 to keep their season alive.
Tonight is the Sixers' final chance to capture a win at home in this series. If they fail to do so, they will be packing their bags for good.
Who: Boston Celtics (3-2) at Philadelphia 76ers (2-3)
When: 8 p.m. ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBCSN, Peacock
The Sixers won in Boston for the second time in this series, with contributions up and down the roster. Once Joel Embiid stopped chucking long-range shots, he made easy work of the Celtics' inability to match his size and strength. He shot 12-of-18 from inside the arc and dished out eight assists.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points of his own and pulled down 10 rebounds with a refuse-to-lose type of effort that cascaded down the rest of the roster. When Philly has their two best guys simpatico, everything else seems to fall into place. Paul George continued his steady play with 16 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, playing the perfect release valve role for the offense the entire series while commandeering the perimeter defense at a high level.
VJ Edgecombe was able to finally knock down some shots again, and Quentin Grimes showed up to the party with 18 points of his own behind some very timely three-point buckets. Nick Nurse effectively deployed a six-man rotation where, for one night, everyone starred in their role- even Kelly Oubre, who has been suspect on offense the last two games, but has done just about as good a job as you can ask for disrupting and bothering Jaylen Brown on the other end of the floor.
The Celtics have two theoretical advantages over the Sixers: three-point shooting and rebounding ability, especially with Joel Embiid still compromised to a certain degree. They had neither of those things go their way in Game 5, and they had to pack up their bags and head back to Philadelphia because of it.
The Celtics play the numbers game, betting that they will not have four off nights over a seven-game sample, and for much of the Joe Mazzulla era, they have been proven correct in that philosophy. Game 5 was one of those nights where they could not get the shots to fall, but what should not sit well with them is that Philadelphia got up more three-point attempts than Boston did. Coupled with only bringing down two more team rebounds than the Sixers, they got beaten at their own game.
Boston is notorious for bouncing back from losses, and they do not let off nights affect their approach from game to game. They also seem more comfortable playing on the road than at home, and the Sixers have a knack for getting tight in their home building, so the Celtics have that working in their favor.
The Sixers need multiple things to go their way if they are going to force Game 7. It all starts with the two guys up top, who both need to play at their All-NBA caliber levels. Joel Embiid needs to keep punishing Neemias Queta and Nikola Vucevic, forcing them into foul trouble and ensuring Boston's help defense collapses, creating kick-out opportunities for open shooters.
Paul George has to keep up his cool, efficient play as well. If George's shot goes cold, the Sixers are drawing dead. One of Kelly Oubre or Quentin Grimes needs to step up and provide some insurance points for the offense. Taking advantage of Boston's drop coverage looks and over-helping to guard Embiid finally got Grimes integrated into the series in Game 5.
The Sixers need to be prepared for the Celtics to try to draw Embiid into more actions to wear him out and/or get him into foul trouble. Embiid played a heroic 39 minutes in Game 5 largely because the Celtics allowed him to dictate the pace. Expect Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to put an emphasis on getting into the paint and attacking the rim. With Embiid not having the lift to meet them there at the moment, the Celtics should have multiple buttons to push every time they can dribble -penetrate.
If the Celtics do go that route, Nick Nurse should give some serious consideration to putting Adem Bona in Kelly Oubre's spot and allowing him to share the floor with Joel Embiid. Inserting Bona into the five-spot on defense protects Joel Embiid while also giving the team a much better shot at truly defending the rim. Embiid can also provide the necessary spacing on offense so that their half-court possessions would not get too clunky. Embiid can work his way inside from his preferred spots with Bona primed and ready in the dunker spot, or he can command gravity from his normal spot in the midrange, while Bona can work as a weak-side screener or the pick-and-roll as a rim runner.
Game 6 is shaping up to be a war, and whichever side wins the strategic chess match has a very good chance of winning the ball game.
Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will give the home fans one final taste of what they can be when they are both playing well in tandem, keeping their hopes alive that maybe they can find a way into the second round of the playoffs after all.
MORE: Quentin Grimes provided needed spark to force Game 6
