The Boston Celtics will face off against the Philadelphia 76ers in a decisive Game 7 on Sunday, May 2nd. The game will take place in Boston at 7:30 PM EST. Fans can watch the game on Peacock and NBC. At the time of writing, Boston is favored to win as a 7.5-point favorite.
Recent Results
The 76ers have had the biggest form of help in Joel Embiid being cleared to play two games ago. Although Philadelphia was facing elimination, Embiid rallied the team to two big wins, one of which was at the TD Garden. The other major contributor for the 76ers has been Tyrese Maxey, who hasn’t scored less than 22 points in any game in this series. Despite Boston’s dominating defense, Maxey has proven he can still get to the basket as well as shoot from deep.
Boston started the series on fire, but has since taken their foot off the gas. Most of their woes come from long-range shooting; the Celtics only hit 12 of their 41 three-pointers in the previous game. Both Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown were also held under 20 points. The Celtics will certainly want to be more accurate from range in Game 7.
Historically speaking, Boston has been a big obstacle to overcome for Philadelphia in the playoffs. Joel Embiid has never been able to beat the C’s in a postseason matchup. Two years ago, both teams met in the Eastern Conference Finals, where Boston won in Game 7.
Players to Watch
- Boston Celtics: Peyton Pritchard
The starters get most of the attention in Boston (Brown, Tatum, White, etc.), but the Celtics’ sixth man is arguably just as important. Peyton Pritchard has played much more aggressively this season, driving to the paint and getting more open looks for his teammates. He should see plenty of opportunity in this Game 7, as he usually doesn’t draw a double team. A quiet game from Pritchard could be the nail in the coffin for Boston as well; Pritchard only scored 14 in their recent loss.
- 76ers: V.J. Edgecombe
Edgecombe is gaining more notoriety, especially after being named as a finalist for Rookie of the Year (lost to Cooper Flagg). In terms of his playoff performance, though, Edgecombe’s accuracy has been much more streaky. He has scored as high as 30 and as low as six in this series alone. When he scored the 30, he and Maxey paired for a phenomenal offensive performance and stole their sole win in this series before Embiid made his comeback. Although Embiid and Maxey are the heavy hitters for this squad, additional help from Edgecombe might be the difference between winning and losing.
Matchup Breakdown
- Offense vs. Defense
It’s fairly easy to see what the 76ers try to do on offense: feed the ball into Embiid and watch him score. It is difficult for anyone to defend Embiid when healthy, a fact Boston Center Neemis Queta is learning. When Embiid is off the court is where Boston’s defense tries to put some stops together, though. Their big priority will be defending the paint; Maxey has shown he can drive and get a layup on most offensive possessions.
As for the Celtics’ offense, they really have tried to shoot at will. Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown certainly have green lights whenever they want to shoot, but they haven’t always gotten great looks. A lot of these misses have come from Brown and Tatum in isolation. Defense has never been a strong suit for Philadelphia, so Boston really needs to try to drive to the basket to create some opportunities for their long-range shooting game.
Prediction
Boston 105, Philadelphia 100
- How to watch
- TV: NBC
- Streaming: Peacock, DirecTV, Hulu + Live TV
- Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Game 7 was perhaps not the situation the Celtics planned on being in in the first round of the Playoffs. The 76ers looked to be in a transitional year, and it looked like they might have been swept by the Celtics.
With the return of Embiid, though, Philadelphia is proving that it can hang with the Celtics regardless of the tight defense Boston is known for. Given the circumstances, this series has become one of the most important in the NBA right now.
Philadelphia was chanting “We want Boston” after their play-in tournament performance. Either they prove plenty of naysayers wrong with a win on Saturday, or Boston saves face in a scary round 1.
