76ers (3-3) at Celtics (3-3) Round 2 Game 7 5/14/23

[scaryjerry]

I don’t mind players showing emotion at the right time in place. Including Tatum. But you need to keep your head in the game for the whole game.  If you are thinking, even for a moment about how many points you have or how many threes you have hit that is a few moments you aren’t thinking about the game.

How many points did you average when you played Vermont Green?  Were you ever a lead scorer.  Did you play after High Scho. Because I was on several teams and I thought I was letting my team down if I did not produce.   Though I never checked my points until after a game.   If you  care it hurts and eats at you.


I was really glad to see him played for 4 quarters.   That is a must going forward.

It wasn’t very hard to count the points I scored when I played in high school. But you are missing the point. This teams Achilles’ heel all season long was letdowns. Not having a killer instinct. Or maintaining the killer instinct. You have to stay focused and keep your head in the game.  A game can be won or a lost in a short stretch of the game where there are a couple of turnovers or otherwise even a small letdown.

To be clear, I did not find anything Tatum did in this game to be egregious or showboating or anything like that. But I have seen this team blow leads, and otherwise lose their focus.  Our stars are very young still. But I feel that their best chance to win a title is to stay as focused as possible for the entire game.  Anything outside of that lane diminishes their chances, even if it is only slightly.

I guess if there's a time to lose focus, it's when you just scored your playoff record 51st point to put your team up 26 with 7:21 left in the game.

At the same time, the team *didn't* lose focus, as they grew the lead to 30 before Tatum left the game.

I'm really not sure what the difference is between flashing a "50" sign, versus the "3" sign after every three pointer, etc.

I think everyone is missing my point. I must not be saying it very clearly. Tatum had a game for the ages. He is a phenomenal young player. One of the best in the league. I couldn’t be happier having him as the leader of the Celtics team.

But his next level of ascension of leadership is to be making all those big shots and then not doing the three point sign or 50 point sign after. Put the dagger in the opponent’s heart and just walk off the court. Like Kobe would do. Like Bird would do. Like MJ would do.  Anything small Tatum does will get amplified because it will affect the rest of the team.  I am not being critical of Tatum, or at least not trying to be. But these are the little things that make the difference between winning a championship and not.  Or winning a string of championships.

If he plays like that he can do whatever he wants. You’re not being critical of Tatum but in the same breath criticizing him for celebrating big shots in the biggest game of the year. Every player is different and frankly Tatum is typically one of the most even keeled players I’ve ever seen…I like to see some emotion for once.
Again, if he plays like that he can do the Hokey Pokey for all I care.

[Roy H.]

I don’t mind players showing emotion at the right time in place. Including Tatum. But you need to keep your head in the game for the whole game.  If you are thinking, even for a moment about how many points you have or how many threes you have hit that is a few moments you aren’t thinking about the game.

How many points did you average when you played Vermont Green?  Were you ever a lead scorer.  Did you play after High Scho. Because I was on several teams and I thought I was letting my team down if I did not produce.   Though I never checked my points until after a game.   If you  care it hurts and eats at you.


I was really glad to see him played for 4 quarters.   That is a must going forward.

It wasn’t very hard to count the points I scored when I played in high school. But you are missing the point. This teams Achilles’ heel all season long was letdowns. Not having a killer instinct. Or maintaining the killer instinct. You have to stay focused and keep your head in the game.  A game can be won or a lost in a short stretch of the game where there are a couple of turnovers or otherwise even a small letdown.

To be clear, I did not find anything Tatum did in this game to be egregious or showboating or anything like that. But I have seen this team blow leads, and otherwise lose their focus.  Our stars are very young still. But I feel that their best chance to win a title is to stay as focused as possible for the entire game.  Anything outside of that lane diminishes their chances, even if it is only slightly.

I guess if there's a time to lose focus, it's when you just scored your playoff record 51st point to put your team up 26 with 7:21 left in the game.

At the same time, the team *didn't* lose focus, as they grew the lead to 30 before Tatum left the game.

I'm really not sure what the difference is between flashing a "50" sign, versus the "3" sign after every three pointer, etc.

I think everyone is missing my point. I must not be saying it very clearly. Tatum had a game for the ages. He is a phenomenal young player. One of the best in the league. I couldn’t be happier having him as the leader of the Celtics team.

But his next level of ascension of leadership is to be making all those big shots and then not doing the three point sign or 50 point sign after. Put the dagger in the opponent’s heart and just walk off the court. Like Kobe would do. Like Bird would do. Like MJ would do.  Anything small Tatum does will get amplified because it will affect the rest of the team.  I am not being critical of Tatum, or at least not trying to be. But these are the little things that make the difference between winning a championship and not.  Or winning a string of championships.

Larry Bird is one of the best trash talkers of all time, and he had no problem showing up his opponents.  Hell, he played an entire game left-handed.  In the 3PT contest he walked off the court with his arm in the air.

MJ trash talked and celebrated big shots, as well.  He had plenty of gestures, too.  Sticking his tongue out.  The shoulder shrug.

Kobe did hand gestures, as well.  Finger wagging, "five rings", etc.

I think we're asking Tatum to live up to a standard that doesn't really exist as a norm.

[Redz]

James Harden averaged 22 ppg in the series, but only had two games where he scored more than 17.  He did manage to steal two games almost singlehanded.  Such a strange player.

I enjoyed watching Maxey.  He had two amazing crowd husher 3’s in the series, and showed flashes of brilliance.

Sixers are flawed, but aren’t we all.

Crazy series.

I think we should take the Heat in 5, but I’m sure it will get extended in the most maddening of ways.

Just keep advancing.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

just getting home. WOW JUST WOW is all i can say. tatum dominated it appears and how did we hold them to 10 in the 3rd?

that is unreal.

DOC CHOKER RIVERS CHOKES AWAY A SERIES LEAD AGAIN!

NOW LETS GET READY FOR A WAR WITH THE HEAT

TP Lep!!!!

Nature Boy Tatum brought the heat tonight!

NATURE BOY TATUM!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

LFG BABY!

LETS GO WIN ANOTHER ECF AND GET A BANNER IN THE FINALS

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

James Harden averaged 22 ppg in the series, but only had two games where he scored more than 17.  He did manage to steal two games almost singlehanded.  Such a strange player.

I enjoyed watching Maxey.  He had two amazing crowd husher 3’s in the series, and showed flashes of brilliance.

Sixers are flawed, but aren’t we all.

Crazy series.

I think we should take the Heat in 5, but I’m sure it will get extended in the most maddening of ways.

Just keep advancing.

shoulda beat heat in 5 last year also. we were gassed in game 1 after coming off a 7 game war with giannis and marcus was out that game.  it took 3 road wins to beat the heat last year. i hope we win in 4 but i will expect 7 with this bi polar team. eric will coach circles around joe schmo. gonna be up to our players. not joes coaching or lack thereof.

[mef730]

James Harden averaged 22 ppg in the series, but only had two games where he scored more than 17.  He did manage to steal two games almost singlehanded.  Such a strange player.

I enjoyed watching Maxey.  He had two amazing crowd husher 3’s in the series, and showed flashes of brilliance.

Sixers are flawed, but aren’t we all.

Crazy series.

I think we should take the Heat in 5, but I’m sure it will get extended in the most maddening of ways.

Just keep advancing.

Because I'm a math geek and know how to have a good time, I ran a standard deviation on his performance. The admittedly small sample size generated a std dev of 14, which is nuts. Might as well have thrown darts at a dart board.

[Vermont Green]

I don’t mind players showing emotion at the right time in place. Including Tatum. But you need to keep your head in the game for the whole game.  If you are thinking, even for a moment about how many points you have or how many threes you have hit that is a few moments you aren’t thinking about the game.

How many points did you average when you played Vermont Green?  Were you ever a lead scorer.  Did you play after High Scho. Because I was on several teams and I thought I was letting my team down if I did not produce.   Though I never checked my points until after a game.   If you  care it hurts and eats at you.


I was really glad to see him played for 4 quarters.   That is a must going forward.

It wasn’t very hard to count the points I scored when I played in high school. But you are missing the point. This teams Achilles’ heel all season long was letdowns. Not having a killer instinct. Or maintaining the killer instinct. You have to stay focused and keep your head in the game.  A game can be won or a lost in a short stretch of the game where there are a couple of turnovers or otherwise even a small letdown.

To be clear, I did not find anything Tatum did in this game to be egregious or showboating or anything like that. But I have seen this team blow leads, and otherwise lose their focus.  Our stars are very young still. But I feel that their best chance to win a title is to stay as focused as possible for the entire game.  Anything outside of that lane diminishes their chances, even if it is only slightly.

I guess if there's a time to lose focus, it's when you just scored your playoff record 51st point to put your team up 26 with 7:21 left in the game.

At the same time, the team *didn't* lose focus, as they grew the lead to 30 before Tatum left the game.

I'm really not sure what the difference is between flashing a "50" sign, versus the "3" sign after every three pointer, etc.

I think everyone is missing my point. I must not be saying it very clearly. Tatum had a game for the ages. He is a phenomenal young player. One of the best in the league. I couldn’t be happier having him as the leader of the Celtics team.

But his next level of ascension of leadership is to be making all those big shots and then not doing the three point sign or 50 point sign after. Put the dagger in the opponent’s heart and just walk off the court. Like Kobe would do. Like Bird would do. Like MJ would do.  Anything small Tatum does will get amplified because it will affect the rest of the team.  I am not being critical of Tatum, or at least not trying to be. But these are the little things that make the difference between winning a championship and not.  Or winning a string of championships.

Larry Bird is one of the best trash talkers of all time, and he had no problem showing up his opponents.  Hell, he played an entire game left-handed.  In the 3PT contest he walked off the court with his arm in the air.

MJ trash talked and celebrated big shots, as well.  He had plenty of gestures, too.  Sticking his tongue out.  The shoulder shrug.

Kobe did hand gestures, as well.  Finger wagging, "five rings", etc.

I think we're asking Tatum to live up to a standard that doesn't really exist as a norm.

Trash talking is a completely different thing. I made no comments about trash talking. It is clear you disagreed as do many others. But I predict that in a few years Tatum will put up 50 and just walk off the court all business like been there done that, and it will show his evolution as a leader.  I think Tatum is great. He is still young. He is still evolving as a leader. Many on here have commented on the lack of killer instinct, the lack of consistency. As individuals and as a team. This is all part of it. That championship mentality.  It will start with Tatum.  Who he is now is fine. I’ll take Tatum anytime. But he is going to evolve as a leader.

[Roy H.]

I don’t mind players showing emotion at the right time in place. Including Tatum. But you need to keep your head in the game for the whole game.  If you are thinking, even for a moment about how many points you have or how many threes you have hit that is a few moments you aren’t thinking about the game.

How many points did you average when you played Vermont Green?  Were you ever a lead scorer.  Did you play after High Scho. Because I was on several teams and I thought I was letting my team down if I did not produce.   Though I never checked my points until after a game.   If you  care it hurts and eats at you.


I was really glad to see him played for 4 quarters.   That is a must going forward.

It wasn’t very hard to count the points I scored when I played in high school. But you are missing the point. This teams Achilles’ heel all season long was letdowns. Not having a killer instinct. Or maintaining the killer instinct. You have to stay focused and keep your head in the game.  A game can be won or a lost in a short stretch of the game where there are a couple of turnovers or otherwise even a small letdown.

To be clear, I did not find anything Tatum did in this game to be egregious or showboating or anything like that. But I have seen this team blow leads, and otherwise lose their focus.  Our stars are very young still. But I feel that their best chance to win a title is to stay as focused as possible for the entire game.  Anything outside of that lane diminishes their chances, even if it is only slightly.

I guess if there's a time to lose focus, it's when you just scored your playoff record 51st point to put your team up 26 with 7:21 left in the game.

At the same time, the team *didn't* lose focus, as they grew the lead to 30 before Tatum left the game.

I'm really not sure what the difference is between flashing a "50" sign, versus the "3" sign after every three pointer, etc.

I think everyone is missing my point. I must not be saying it very clearly. Tatum had a game for the ages. He is a phenomenal young player. One of the best in the league. I couldn’t be happier having him as the leader of the Celtics team.

But his next level of ascension of leadership is to be making all those big shots and then not doing the three point sign or 50 point sign after. Put the dagger in the opponent’s heart and just walk off the court. Like Kobe would do. Like Bird would do. Like MJ would do.  Anything small Tatum does will get amplified because it will affect the rest of the team.  I am not being critical of Tatum, or at least not trying to be. But these are the little things that make the difference between winning a championship and not.  Or winning a string of championships.

Larry Bird is one of the best trash talkers of all time, and he had no problem showing up his opponents.  Hell, he played an entire game left-handed.  In the 3PT contest he walked off the court with his arm in the air.

MJ trash talked and celebrated big shots, as well.  He had plenty of gestures, too.  Sticking his tongue out.  The shoulder shrug.

Kobe did hand gestures, as well.  Finger wagging, "five rings", etc.

I think we're asking Tatum to live up to a standard that doesn't really exist as a norm.

Trash talking is a completely different thing. I made no comments about trash talking. It is clear you disagreed as do many others. But I predict that in a few years Tatum will put up 50 and just walk off the court all business like been there done that, and it will show his evolution as a leader.  I think Tatum is great. He is still young. He is still evolving as a leader. Many on here have commented on the lack of killer instinct, the lack of consistency. As individuals and as a team. This is all part of it. That championship mentality.  It will start with Tatum.  Who it is now is fine. I’ll take Tatum anytime. But he is going to evolve as a leader.

Tatum has walked off the floor after scoring fifty.  If I'm recalling correctly, he's got five in the regular season, two in the playoffs, and one in the play-in.  Last night was the only time I recall him making a hand gesture.  That's because he was fired up after having a poor series to that point, and there was something special about putting up 50+ in a Game 7.

The "championship mentality" doesn't exclude emotion, though.  Leaders can celebrate.  I just watched the fourth quarter of "The Duel" between Dominique and Bird in Game 7.  Larry was fist bumping, giving teammates double high fives, etc.  I don't see it as much different.

[Kernewek]

James Harden averaged 22 ppg in the series, but only had two games where he scored more than 17.  He did manage to steal two games almost singlehanded.  Such a strange player.

I enjoyed watching Maxey.  He had two amazing crowd husher 3’s in the series, and showed flashes of brilliance.

Sixers are flawed, but aren’t we all.

Crazy series.

I think we should take the Heat in 5, but I’m sure it will get extended in the most maddening of ways.

Just keep advancing.

Because I'm a math geek and know how to have a good time, I ran a standard deviation on his performance. The admittedly small sample size generated a std dev of 14, which is nuts. Might as well have thrown darts at a dart board.

His performance in the series? Might be cool to see his post-season since leaving OKC.

[Phantom255x]

Harden and Embiid were GASSED in the 2nd half yesterday and it was obvious. Maxey and some of the others were still flying around, but Embiid + Harden were practically just walking up the court, making lazy drives that either ended in an easy block or bad/lazy shot attempt. Led to some turnovers as well. Embiid didn't even try to post up guys like he did in the first half, almost as if he got tired from doing it so many times against Horford/Timelord/Smart in the 2nd quarter. In one sequence, both guys were walking up together and Harden looked to pass to Embiid but Embiid was looking away and it was practically a forced handoff by Harden while both guys were walking LOL. Not a good look.

And there were some drives where I didn't think JT or Brogdon did anything special at all, they'd simply run by Embiid for an easy layup. 

Maybe Embiid was hurt with the LCL strain, but Harden's not built for a long playoff run. Credit to him for those two 40+ point games, but he clearly lost steam in the final two games of the series

[johnnygreen]

Per ESPN, Embiid averaged 33.1 ppg in the regular season, and only 23.7 ppg in the playoffs. That drop-off (-9.4) is the largest by that year's MVP in NBA history.

On a separate note, the 76ers were 2-0 without Embiid in this year's playoffs.

[Kernewek]

Per ESPN, Embiid averaged 33.1 ppg in the regular season, and only 23.7 ppg in the playoffs. That drop-off (-9.4) is the largest by that year's MVP in NBA history.

On a separate note, the 76ers were 2-0 without Embiid in this year's playoffs.

If I'm recalling correctly (and I may not be), Embiid is also the only MVP to never make it out of the second round before winning the award.

Obviously regular season awards have no bearing on the playoffs, but I thought it was interesting.

[johnnygreen]

I'm very superstitious, so I'm very careful to not say certain things. After the way the Celtics won game 6, I didn't think the 76ers could recover. I thought this was especially true based on Harden and Embiid's history of quitting when the opposing team rips their heart out. There was simply no way I was going to mention that before game 7.

[Roy H.]

Per ESPN, Embiid averaged 33.1 ppg in the regular season, and only 23.7 ppg in the playoffs. That drop-off (-9.4) is the largest by that year's MVP in NBA history.

On a separate note, the 76ers were 2-0 without Embiid in this year's playoffs.

Embiid is also reportedly the only league MVP who has never made it out of the second round.

It will be interesting to see where his career goes.  Is he a Philly lifer?

[Phantom255x]

Some local reporters in Philly seem to think Doc's job is safe. Doc also said he plans to coach with PHI next season.

Things can change, but it sounds like maybe he also knows his job is safe?