The First Of Two At Home: Celtics vs. 76ers Game 3 Preview
Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe
The 76ers have made it a series, and with two games set to be played in Philadelphia, can they actually take advantage of the situation they find themselves in?
Heading into the series, many experts felt the
76ers, without Joel Embiid, had little to no shot to not only win their series against the Boston Celtics, but even winning a game seemed impossible. Somehow, the 76ers did win a game, avoiding a sweep, and now find themselves with back-to-back home games to try and either go up or down 3-1 or keep the series tied heading back to Boston.
Unlike Game 1, Game 2 saw much improvement from the 76ers in terms of scoring, three-point shooting, and defending, and just a drive overall to keep this series close. It’s still an uphill battle for this team to pull off three more wins, but for now, they have to start with just one.
VJ Edgecombe Has Made His Mark
If there’s one thing true for the remainder of the series, it’s that VJ Edgecombe is locked in and ready to go, for whatever comes his way this series.
Following a down Game 1 performance where Edgecombe scored just 13 points, shooting 6-for-16 from the field and 0-for-5 from three, the 76ers’ rookie came back strong in Game 2, dropping a whopping 30 points, 10 rebounds, for a playoff double-double.
Edgecombe became the first rookie to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a single playoff game since Tim Duncan, and also became the youngest player in NBA playoff history to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game.
READ MORE ON EDGECOMBE:
It was a historic performance from Edgecombe, who, for the first time this postseason, felt more like a true leader of the 76ers rather than a member of the supporting cast. Now we’ll see if Edgecombe has any more kind of performances like that the rest of the series, but you have to feel as if Edgecombe has made his mark on this matchup and is ready to provide like the rest of the top talent in this series.
Edgcombe and Tyrese Maxey are the future of the 76ers backcourt, but right now it seems as though it’s the one-two punch that the team needs to ride if they want to pick up any more wins.
Locking Down Their Three-Point Attack
The key to the 76ers pulling out wins against the Celtics is locking down the three-point shooting. The Celtics live and die by the three-pointer; there’s no secret to that. In the last four years, each Celtics team has ranked in the top 10 for most three-pointers in a season by a collective team, as they rank at the top of the league in most attempted and made triples.
But the 76ers have done a solid job of keeping the Celtics’ three-pointers in the series to a minimum, with Game 2 being a significantly down shooting night for Boston.
In Game 1, the Celtics shot 44 threes, and in Game 2, they shot 50. The big difference in each game, they made 16 in Game 1, shooting 36%, and in Game 2 only made 13, shooting 26%. If Boston shot 36% in Game 2, they would’ve won 112-111. The 76ers being able to keep the Celtics three-point shooting in check literally won them Game 2.
If the 76ers can keep the threes to a minimum, then the scoring for the 76ers can keep up with the Celtics, and they will have chances to pull out a victory at home. It’s a long shot due to everybody who gets run on the Celtics having the ability to hit threes, but not an impossible task.
Can They Actually Get Joel Embiid Back?
While the idea of Joel Embiid returning in this series against Boston seems near impossible, I’d say nothing is unattainable for the big man after seeing the returns he’s made in the postseason over the years. From Bell’s Palsy to knee issues, Embiid has scratched and clawed his way back to play in a playoff series nobody thought he could play. And what do you know, it seems Embiid is doing his best to make it back for this series.
Embiid is listed as doubtful for Game 3, marking it the first time that he will head into a game day without being listed as out on the injury report. A doubtful listing likely means that Embiid won’t play in Game 3, but Embiid began a conditioning program on Monday and participated in parts of the 76ers’ practice on Thursday.
Time will tell if Embiid can actually make it back for this series or any series this postseason, but for the first time since suffering his appendicitis injury, it seems there’s hope that the 76ers can get their star player back in the middle.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
Get New Articles Emailed Right To Your Inbox:
