Boston Celtics (43-17) at Philadelphia 76ers (39-19) Recreation #61 2/25/23

The Celtics go to the Philadelphia 76ers for the third of 4 conferences between the 2 groups this season. They met in Boston on the primary night time of the season, October 18, when the Celtics received 126-117. They met a second time in Boston on February 8 and the Celtics received 106-99. They’ll meet in Philadelphia once more on April 4. The Celtics are 266-195 all time total and they’re 89-127 all time in Philly. They tied the collection 2-2 final season with every crew successful 1 at house and 1 on the street.

The Celtics are nonetheless 1st within the East, however their lead over #2 Milwaukee has dwindled to only half a recreation because the Bucks have received 13 video games in a row. They’ve a 3 recreation lead over Philadelphia and a 6.5 recreation lead over Cleveland. Additionally they have a 1 recreation lead over Denver for one of the best document within the league. The Celtics are 19-10 on the street and 8-2 of their final 10 video games. They’re 26-12 in opposition to Jap Convention opponents and 8-1 in opposition to Atlantic Division rivals. They’re searching for their 3nd straight win.

The 76ers are third within the East, 3 video games behind first place Boston and a couple of.5 video games behind 2nd place Milwaukee. They’re 3.5 video games forward of 4th place Cleveland and eight video games forward of seventh place Miami and the play in seeds. They’re 24-8 at house and 7-3 of their final 10 video games. They’re 23-13 in opposition to Jap Convention opponents and 7-5 in opposition to the Atlantic Division. They’ve received their final 5 video games.

The Celtics are enjoying within the 2nd of three street video games after the All Star break. They received the primary recreation at Indiana and can end their street journey in New York on Monday. They’ll then have 3 straight house video games vs Cleveland, Brooklyn and New York. The Sixers are enjoying within the 4th recreation of a 5 recreation house stand. They received the primary 3 video games on this house stand. They’ll end the house stand in opposition to Miami on Monday after which begin a 5 recreation street journey.

Each groups are principally wholesome. The Celtics have solely Danilo Gallinari (knee) on the damage listing presently. Jayson Tatum fell on his sore wrist on Thursday however hasn’t been placed on the damage listing due to it presently. For the Warmth, solely Dewayne Dedmon (hip) is listed as out. Each groups will doubtless begin the identical 5 gamers as they did of their final recreation.

Possible Celtics Starters

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Celtics Reserves
Malcolm Brogdon
Grant Williams
Sam Hauser
Payton Pritchard
Luke Kornet
Blake Griffin
Mike Muscala
Derrick White

2 Means Gamers
JD Davison
Mfiondu Kabengele

Out/Accidents
Danilo Gallinari (ACL) out

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Possible 76ers Starters

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Sixers Reserves
Montrezl Harrell
Danuel Home, Jr
Furkan Korkmaz
Tyrese Maxey
Jalen McDaniels
Shake Milton
Georges Niang
Paul Reed
Jaden Springer

2 Means Gamers
Mac McClung
Louis King

Out/Accidents
Dewayne Dedmon (hip) out

Head Coach
Doc Rivers

Key Matchups

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  Robert Williams
  
  
  Photograph by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE by way of Getty Pictures
  
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  Joel Embiid
  
  
  Photograph by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Pictures
  

Robert Williams III vs Joel Embiid
That is the important thing matchup for this recreation. Embiid is averaging 33.0 factors, 10.3 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per recreation. He’s capturing 53.0% from the sector and 34.2% from past the arc. Towards the Celtics this season, he averaged 27 factors, 11 rebounds, and three assists. The Celtics must comprise Embiid as a lot as doable. He scores each inside and on the perimeter and so the Celtics want to stick with him always.

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  Marcus Sensible
  
  
  Photograph by Maddie Meyer/Getty Pictures
  
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  James Harden
  
  
  Photograph by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Pictures
  

Marcus Sensible vs James Harden
Harden is averaging 21.6 factors, 6.2 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per recreation. He’s capturing 45.6% from the sector and 39.7% from past the arc. Towards the Celtics this season he averaged 30.5 factors, 5.5 rebounds, and 9 assists. He shot 60.7% from the sector and 50% from past the arc. It goes with out saying that the Celtics might want to defend him higher on this recreation.

Honorable Point out
Malcolm Brogdon vs Tyrese Maxey
Maxey has began 22 video games for the Sixers this season however has been coming off the bench for them not too long ago. He’s averaging 19.7 factors, 2.8 rebounds, and three.6 assists per recreation. He’s capturing 45.2% from the sector and 38.4% from past the arc. Within the first two video games in opposition to Boston this season, he averaged with 13.5 factors, 3 rebounds and a couple of assists. He shot 36.7% from the sector and 25% from past the arc. He provides the Sixers vitality and an offensive power off the bench.

Keys to the Recreation
Protection – Protection will all the time be key to successful each recreation. The Celtics are 4th within the league with a 111.0 defensive score whereas the Sixers are sixth with a defensive score of 111.6. The Sixers are sixteenth within the league with 114.3 factors per recreation. The Celtics have to come back into this recreation with the mindset that they should play robust protection. The Celtics have proven indicators of enjoying the type of protection that had them on the high of the league final season however they haven’t been constant and in opposition to the Pacers, they appeared to neglect how you can play protection. They should get again to creating protection their precedence for each possession of each recreation.

Rebound – Rebounding is second to protection as a key to successful. The Celtics are sixth with 45.2 rebounds per recreation whereas the Sixers are twenty eighth with 40.6 rebounds per recreation. It takes effort to get rebounds and the Celtics should go all out of their effort to beat the Sixers on the boards. The Celtics must hold the Sixers from getting second likelihood factors across the basket and they should give themselves additional possessions by rebounding on the offensive finish. If the Celtics need to win this one, it’s essential that they go all out to crash the boards.

Take Care of the Ball – The 76ers are fifth within the league with 18.7 factors off turnovers per recreation. The Celtics are sixth within the league, committing solely 13.5 turnovers per recreation however at occasions, like within the Pacers recreation, that they’ve durations after they commit turnover after turnover. They should concentrate on making good passes and on not dribbling right into a crowd. It’s laborious to win a recreation whenever you give the opponent 20+ additional possessions by turning the ball over. In the event that they get sloppy, the 76ers will definitely make them pay.

Be Aggressive – The Celtics have to be the crew that performs more durable and that desires this win extra. They should be aggressive in diving for free balls, in going to the basket, in getting stops on the defensive finish, in closing out the passing lanes, and in going after rebounds. The Celtics have to be the extra aggressive crew from begin to end. If they begin out slowly, they might not be capable to catch up on this one. Additionally they can’t enable the Sixers to come back again in the event that they get out to a lead as a result of the Sixers are good at ending video games. The Celtics must play with the vitality and aggressiveness from the opening tip to the ultimate buzzer.

X-Components
Teaching – Former Celtics coach Doc Rivers, who’s in his third yr because the Sixers coach, is likely one of the high 15 coaches in NBA historical past. Joe Mazzulla is in his first season as a head coach, having been given the job only a couple weeks earlier than the season. The Celtics got here out on high within the first 2 video games however Doc goes to need to beat them on this recreation actually badly. He’s going to throw every part he has on the Celtics and will probably be as much as Mazzulla to counter him.

Rivalry – The Celtics and 76ers are undoubtedly a rivalry, regardless of what Embiid says. The Sixers, having misplaced the final 2 video games between them will need play additional laborious on this recreation to attempt to get even on this recreation. I’m certain they keep in mind the confetti recreation and the truth that the Celtics have eradicated them the final 5 occasions they’ve met within the playoffs. I’ve little question that the 76ers will play their hardest in opposition to the Celtics and the Celtics should match that effort and play even more durable themselves.

Officiating – Officiating is all the time an x-factor. Each crew calls the sport in another way. Some name it tight and name each little bit of contact whereas others enable extra bodily play. Some favor the house crew whereas others name either side evenly. The Celtics have to regulate to the best way the refs are calling the sport and never enable the no calls and unhealthy calls to have an effect on their concentrate on enjoying the sport. They particularly must hold their poise and never complain to the refs on each name.