A Response is Needed: Celtics vs. 76ers Game 4 Preview

The 76ers came back to Philadelphia for Game 3 with something that seemingly no fans had going into this series:

Hope.

By splitting the first two games in Boston 1-1, the 7th-seeded Philadelphia put themselves in good shape heading back home, but after an unfortunate, hard-fought loss to the Celtics, Game 4 is essentially a must-win.

If the Sixers want any chance at shocking the NBA world and possibly winning this series, it all comes down to this game.

Joel Embiid‘s Status

Philly has been without their star center for the first 3 games of the series as he deals with the recovery from his appendectomy a little over two weeks ago. His presence is completely the X-factor when it comes to the team playing well, even with all the talent on this roster.

Embiid has a chance to return for Sunday’s game after being ruled out for game 3 only a few hours prior, and is doubtful for game 4, but is a game-time decision. Should he return for game 4, the odds of Philly coming out on top absolutely skyrocket. Embiid, in — for his standards — a rough season, was still able to average 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, proving to be an elite contributor for this team.

Embiid participated in on-court workouts and morning shootaround with the team prior to game 3, and according to Nick Nurse, went through intense action while doing so. Nurse stated that Embiid was pushing hard in the workouts, but wasn’t yet ready to play in the game. Embiid did participate in workouts on Sunday morning.

Should Embiid return for game 4, although unlikely, he would have Neemias Queta as his matchup, an excellent mismatch for Embiid. Queta simply would not be able to compete with Embiid’s offensive prowess, and the Big Fella absolutely could take the game into his own hands.

In all likelihood, Embiid will not be playing in Game 4. Adem Bona has stepped into his role while he’s been out, and now needs to step up big time. Bona has looked very much like his raw self this series — a trait that needs to change if Philadelphia wants to extend this series as far as possible. Bona has had too many mishaps on the offensive and defensive end, meaning if Embiid cannot return, he needs to take a major leap to make an impact.

Tyrese Maxey Must Be More Efficient

Tyrese Maxey has been the leader of this team for the past two seasons now, and his scoring ability is uncanny. At times, it seems as if Maxey is the best scorer in the NBA and should be in the MVP conversation, but those talks happen when one is efficiently scoring the basketball.

Maxey’s game 3 performance to the naked eye was fine. 31 points seems like a great achievement for a playoff game. However, shooting a total of 31 shots in a game means that the team has asserted you as the number one option, no matter the situation. When in that situation, making just 12 is unacceptable. Maxey looked rough when it came to efficiently scoring, and it was a difficult sight to watch in Game 3. Indeed, he did have his positive moments where he shone like his normal self, but the lack of efficient scoring was brutal – especially towards the end of the game.

While the surrounding pieces around Maxey fell short of expectations, the lack of scoring efficiency from the 6-year guard significantly hurt the team down the stretch.

Defending the 3 Ball is the End All Be All

The Celtics shoot the three more than anybody else in the NBA. They utilized that willingness to shoot in game 3 and knocked down 20 threes, a number that needs to be lowered if Philly wants a shot at this game.

Now, what exactly does that mean? That means that Philadelphia has to be okay with having the help defenders sag off their help assignment and leak out to the corners/wings to defend the kick out. That is where Boston makes their money, and the 76ers cannot allow it to happen.

The consequences of doing this is the straight-line drive becomes more dangerous, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, being two of the top playmakers in basketball, do not help this. Allowing for some of Tatum and Brown’s attack toward the rim may have to occur in order to defend the three. Back in game 2, the 76ers slightly focused on this, and it caused a boatload of missed opportunities from three for Boston, and Philly was able to handle the attack on the rim.

Simply, if the 76ers can defend the three, Boston runs out of options to go to, and Philly can take full advantage of this.

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