Boston Celtics take on Philadelphia 76ers in Game - 5 of Eastern Conference Semi Finals – NBA Preview
The Boston Celtics will take on the Philadelphia 76ers in game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semi Final series on Monday night, with the Celtics having home court advantage.
The Celtics lost game 4 to the Sixers after leading by 15 points at one point, a turnaround loss that they would want to forget soon. Andre Iguodala was the main man for the Sixers in that game, though he had help from Evan Turner
and Jrue Holiday.
The series is tied 2-2 and if the Celtics fail to get going in Game -5, they will be staring at elimination from what could possibly be the last playoffs of the big 3 in the Celtics uniform. That is acting as their motivation and
making them compete against a much younger and faster Sixers team. The Celtics narrowly escaped with a victory in game 1 and lost in game 2.
Game 3 was the first time in the series that we saw the true Boston team, with Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett all scoring 20 plus points. Boston overwhelmed the Sixers in that game but the Sixers bounced back in game
4, covering up a 15 point deficit to win by 9 points in the end.
Kevin Garnett managed only 9 points in game 4 after scoring 27 in game 3. When he has a big night, the Celtics are difficult to stop. But more importantly than that, Rajon Rondo is the key for the Celtics. He is the critical component
in a team whose offense relies heavily on jump shots and who do not go to the free throw line too often.
Rondo’s ability to break down the defense through penetration not only allows better looks for Garnett, but also opens up the space so that shooters such as Pierce and Ray Allen can have open looks.
The biggest worry for the Greens however is the form of Allen. The shooting guard has been a shadow of himself this series and with Avery Bradley struggling big time, Doc Rivers needs to make a switch for Allen in the starting
lineup.
The other problem is that the Celtics offense has been having difficulty getting themselves started this series, with game 3 the only exception. And the reason is that the Sixers are one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.
The Sixers are great in rebounding and when Garnett struggles, the Sixers are always with a rebounding advantage over the Celtics.
Also, the Sixers are young and a great team in transition. Iguodala is important for them but contributions from Turner, Holiday and Williams are equally important. Their one aspect that has been a failure consistently this series
is the performance of Spencer Hawes. He had 4 points and 4 rebounds in game 3, and 2 points and 3 rebounds in game 4.
The Sixers will rely on their defense and transition game, while the Celtics will be looking towards their big four one more time. If Garnett can come out with all guns blazing, the C’s will have a great chance and the Phillies
need to stop him.
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