Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics: How Philly can steal Game 2

The Philadelphia 76ers were not as prepared for Game 1 as the Boston Celtics, but have an opportunity to even the series in Game 2.

The Boston Celtics punched the Philadelphia 76ers in the mouth in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Philadelphia shot 5-26 from 3, and missed a few open ones that could have helped them claw back in the fourth. On the other hand, the Celtics went 17-35 from 3. Aron Baynes and Marcus Smart both made a pair of 3’s. Terry Rozier made seven.

If it makes the Sixers feel better, they will shoot better from 3 than they did in Game 1. The Celtics will shoot worse. However, simply chalking it up to this implies that the Sixers have no adjustments to make. They do.

More from Sir Charles In Charge

While Philadelphia bricked a few makable 3’s on one end, they struggled with matchups on the other end.

Joel Embiid gave Al Horford few wide open looks out of the pick and pop. Jayson Tatum was too much for J.J. Redick to handle.

Neither of them guarded Marcus Smart, who logged heavy minutes in the wake of Jaylen Brown’s injury. Smart’s lack of a consistent jump shot could either be used to hide Redick, or allow Embiid to patrol the paint. Sixers should explore having one of the two guard Smart in Game 2.

Nobody on the Sixers had an outwardly bad performance relative to expectation other than Robert Covington. He did not make a field goal, and got burned by Rozier a few times on and off ball.

Covington’s cold shooting forced Brett Brown to close the game with with Belinelli, which created more problems defensively. Boston attacked Belinelli relentlessly.

Much of Boston’s strategy on offense stemmed from forcing switches, and finding a favorable matchup for Rozier and others to ISO out of. This is how they beat the Bucks, and it worked against the Sixers.

Between Rozier, Tatum, and Marcus Morris, the Celtics have players who are not known for their isolation scoring, but have that gear in them when they have a mismatch. Boston is one of many teams who have upped their isolation possessions in response to switch-heavy defenses.

Philadelphia’s first round game plan did not translate as well. Against Miami, the Sixers ran a flurry of off ball screens and cuts to capitalize off of inattentive defense. It worked, especially when Hassan Whiteside played.

The Celtics do not make nearly as many mistakes chasing guys off-ball as the Heat did. Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli, in particular, struggled to squirm loose for 3’s like they did against Miami.

J.J. Redick only shot 2 of 7 from 3, but had a strong impact on the game. Many of the few defensive mistakes Boston made were due to the famous J.J. Redick panicking that every team does when he comes off a screen.

The Sixers should leverage Redick panic more in Game 2. It got them a few easy buckets in Game 1, such as the one from Ben Simmons (clip starts around 0:43 of this video).

Must Read: 2018 NBA Playoffs: Which juggernaut is coming out the West?

If the Philadelphia 76ers commit to a offensive game plan that better leverages their strengths, and makes the necessary adjustments on defense, they will likely tie the series at 1-1 tonight.