Boston Celtics to take on high flying Philadelphia 76ers in Eastern Conference Semi-Finals – NBA Preview
After Thursday night’s games, the second round series in the Eastern Conference have been finalized. The Boston Celtics, after defeating the Atlanta Hawks to take the series 4-2, will face the resurgent Philadelphia 76ers who knocked
out the #1 seed in the East, the Chicago Bulls.
Based on the prediction at the start of the post season, this series was expected to be between the Celtics and the Chicago Bulls. However, the Bulls lost Derrick Rose in the first game and since then, the team has been on a downward
trend. The Sixers took full advantage of the situation and played like the Sixers of the early season, to finish the series in six games. Now, these two teams will clash in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.
The Sixers played amazing basketball against the Bulls and beat them at their own game - defense.
They held the Bulls to an average of 84.3 points per game in the series while averaging 7.5 steals and 6.3 blocks per game and scoring at an average of 86 themselves. On the offensive side, Jrue Holliday led the scoring with 18.2
points per game while Andre Iguodala had 12 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Louis Williams and Evan Turner also contributed on the offensive end.
The Sixers were able to close games, which was the decisive factor in the series. Spencer Hawes had 8 rebounds per game on average and the Sixers as a team averaged 41.2 rebounds per game. The good part about the Sixers success
was that it was a sum of small and meaningful contributions from all the players instead of one or two guys leading the team.
The Boston Celtics have almost the same stats as that of the Sixers in their first round matchup with the Atlanta Hawks. Averaging 86.8 points per game, the Celtics managed 41.2 rebounds, 9 steals and 6.2 blocks per game.
Paul Pierce averaged 21.2 points in the series, while Kevin Garnett managed 18.6 points per game. Rajon Rondo had 14 points and 9.8 assists per game in the series. Ray Allen was however not at his usual best in the series, going
only 5 of 18 from beyond the arc, but he had just comeback from a long injury layoffs and as is bound to deliver.
The two teams played each other 3 times during the regular season and surprisingly, the Sixers won 2 of the 3 fixtures.
They won 103-71 on 7th March, owing to 26 points by Evan Turner and 54 rebounds by the Sixers as a team. The Celtics managed only 35 rebounds and were 35% from the field. Kevin Garnett managed only 8 points
and Rajon Rondo had 5 points and 8 assists.
The Sixers then won again on March 23rd, this time by a 99-86 margin. They once again outrebounded the Celtics 46-35, and 6 Philadelphia players had double figure points for the night. The Celtics were led in scoring
by Pierce and Garnett, both scoring 20 points for the night, and Rondo had 17 assists for the night by the Sixers were able to pull through as their bench outscored the Celtics bench 32-18.
The Celtics finally took the final regular season game on April 8th 103-79. In that game, the difference was that the Sixers were reduced to 39 rebounds, had only 15 assists for the game, and went 2 of 11
from beyond the arc. Iguodala had 13 points and Turner finished with 10. No one else from the starting five had double figure points.
The Celtics had all four starters apart from Rondo in double figure points but Rajon did have 15 assists for the night. The C’s shot 58.8% from the field and 46.7% from beyond the arc.
The key for the Celtics is to contain the second shot opportunities by presenting hard screen and fewer spaces to shoot openly. With that, they have to take charge of the board.
On the other hand, Philadelphia is a strong defensive team and need to play to their strengths. Rebounds are the key for the Sixers as they need to take control in the paint area. Iguodala, Turner and Williams all need to add
to the scoring if they want to beat the Celtics.
It will be a tough series. The Sixers are high on confidence having defeated the Bulls. The Celtics, on the other hand, are a hard team to beat in the playoffs and they have experienced players and they as a team have made this
journey on numerous occasions before.
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