Boston Celtics all set to take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the series finale – NBA Playoffs Preview (part 2)
From the Philadelphia 76ers point of view when they take on the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semi final series, they would want history to repeat itself especially their Head Coach Doug Collins.
Before Game-6 of the series, Collins showed tapes of the 1982 Conference Finals Game 7 in which the Sixers defeated the Celtics to advance to the NBA Finals.
It has been a interesting post season so far for the Sixers who have never backed down to any challenge thrown their way and has given the much experienced C`s, a run for their money by forcing a decider game. However Collins is
not settling for that, He wants his team to go out there and win the series by getting greedy.
“No, I'm not going to give them that out. No, I want more. I want more. We're going to get greedy, and we want more. We've fought, we've worked, and we've gone through a lot as a team” said Collins.
So when they visit the TD Garden to take on the Celtics, one thing that can be expected of the Sixers is that they are going to give it their all. These Sixers have won an away game in this series when they came away with a win
in Game-2 and would hope for a similar out come. But one thing that is not in their favour is the way wins have gone in this series so far, with both sides winning alternately to split the series 3- each.
One thing they would want to do in Game 7 is limit the amount of influence Kevin Garnett has in the game like the way they controlled him the last game. Even though, Garnett managed 20 points in that game as well but it took him
a total of 20 attempts to achieve that mark. So if Elton Brand is able to repeat his performance in this one as well, their job will be half done as Garnett has been the reason for keeping the Celtics alive.
The Sixers would hope for a similar kind of performance from Jrue Holiday who was able to limit the amount of influence Rajon Rondo had in the last game. Along with limiting Rondo to a single digit assists he also held to him to
just 9 points on the night.
Along with doing the defensive work, Holiday also did the damage on the offensive end. He led the Sixers charge with 20 points to help his team come out 82-75 winner while facing the verge of elimination from the playoffs.
After the Game-6 victory, Holiday was not available to speak to the media but earlier this week he came out to contemplate his approach towards the deciding game and clearly indicated that he is going to look to be aggressive.
"We know what we have to do against him, but I have to still be aggressive and look to score." - Holiday
With the way they have been performing in the series so far, they have displayed resilience and have shown that they are not at all fazed by the fact that they are facing a much experienced team. So when they go on to take the
Celtics at the Garden, they will give it their all to make it to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2001.
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