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Boston Celtics (3-2) at Philadelphia 76ers (2-3)
Thursday, April 30, 2026
8:00 PM ET
Round 1 Game #6 Road Game #3
TV: Peacock/NBCSN
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 97.5 The Fanatic, Sirius XM
Xfinity Mobile Arena 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
Shooting Guard 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs VJ Edgecombe
Small Forward 
vs
Sam Hauser vs Kelly Oubre, Jr
Poward Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Paul George
Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Joel Embiid
Celtics ReservesPayton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Jordan Walsh
Amare Williams
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Nikola Vucevic
Ron Harper, Jr
Delano Banton
John Tonje
2-Way PlayersNone
Injuries/OutNone
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
76ers Reserves Andre Drummond
Quentin Grimes
Kyle Lowry
Justin Edwards
Trendon Watford
Dalen Terry
Dominick Barlow
Jabari Walker
2-Way PlayersMarJon Beauchamp
Tyrese Martin
Injuries/OutJoel Embiid (Appendix) probable
Head CoachNick Nurse
Game Notes The Celtics look to close out their first round series once again as they visit the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 6. The Celtics lead the series 3 games to 2. The Celtics dominated Game 1 with a 123-91 win over the 76ers. The 76ers topped the Celtics 111-97 in Game 2 to tie the game at 1 game each. The series shifted to Philadelphia where the Celtics squeezed out a win in Game 3 108-100 and dominated the 76ers 113-97 in Game 4.
After the blow out win in Philadelphia, it seemed as though the Celtics were primed to finish the series at home in Game 5. It appeared that they would do just that as they led by 7 at the half and by 13 in the 3rd quarter. But they completely fell apart in the 4th quarter to lose the game 113-97. The Celtics scored just 11 points in the 4th quarter, shooting just 3-22. They didn't hit a single field goal in the final 7 minutes. At the same time, their defense fell apart, allowing the 76ers to score 28 points. The Celtics have won 2 games by 32 points in this series, only to lose the next game at home.
In the Brown and Tatum era, the Celtics are 7-4 in close out games on the road. They are 4-1 since 2022 in close out games on the road. Teams that are up 3-2 in a best of 7 series wins the series 84% of the time. 357 teams have gone up 3-2 in a series and 300 of those teams won the series. Of those teams, 170 won Game 6 to close out the series while 130 lost game 6 and won Game 7.
Since 2003, 17 teams have either won their first round series in either 4 or 5 games (74%). Since 2015, every team that won the championship has gotten past the first round in 5 games or less. The Celtics in 2024 won their first round series over the Heat 4 games to 1. This might seem like a dire statistic, but there is a positive note to add from Celtics history. In the 2008 playoffs, it took 7 games for the Celtics to get past Atlanta in the first round and those playoffs worked out just fine for the Celtics.
If the Celtics had one flaw this season, it was becoming complacent and allowing lesser teams to play harder than them. Along with Games 2 and 5 of this series where they looked complacent and allowed the and lost to the 76ers, of the Celtics 26 losses this season, there were several losses that were to tanking teams they should have beaten. These include losses to the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls. Since 2023, The Celtics are 8-1 after a playoff loss. 6 of those wins were on the road.
One of the advantages that the Celtics have is their depth. In Game 1, the Celtics got 37 points from their bench while the 76ers got 27 points from theirs. Of course, there were about 6 minutes of garbage time in that game. In Game 2, the 76ers got 21 points from their bench while the Celtics got 20 from theirs. In Game 3, the Celtics' bench put up 35 points while the 76ers got just 14 points from theirs. In Game 4, the Celtics bench put up 57 points while the 76ers got 24 from theirs.
In Game 5, bench scoring was 29-25 in favor of the Celtics. A game after putting up 32 points, Payton Pritchard played just 26 minutes in Game 5 and only 4 minutes in the 4th quarter when the Celtics were struggling to score. The Celtics out-scored the 76ers by eight points in his 26 minutes and has been the Celtics 3rd best player in this series. Baylor Scheierman played just 8:39 in Game 5. Scheierman is shooting 46% from 3 in the series. Hopefully if the starters show they don't have it in this game again, Joe will give his bench more minutes.
The Celtics come into this game with a clean injury report. once again. Joel Embiid is once again listed as probable for this game. He returned from an appendix removal to play in Game 4. Recovery for an appendectomy is anywhere from 20 days to 5 weeks and Embiid returned just 17 days after having his appendix removed. He played very well for them in Game 5 and I expect he will start and play big minutes in this game as well.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
In Game 1, the Celtics were able to hold Maxey to 21 points on 20 shots along with 1 rebound and 8 assists while shooting 40% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He pretty much had his way in Game 2 with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 39.3% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. In Game 3, he scored 31 points but took 31 shots to get them. He finished with 31 points, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks while shooting 38.7% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. With Embiid's return, Maxey took just 14 shots in Game 4 and finished with 22 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block. In Game 5, he finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while shooting 55.6% from the field and 30.3% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to continue to make it a priority to defend him.
vs
Neemias Queta vs Joel Embiid
After missing the first 3 games of the series, Embiid returned to the 76ers for Game 4. He started out strong, scoring the 76ers first 8 points and drawing 2 quick fouls on Queta. He played 34 minutes, finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 42.9% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc. He struggle a bit in the first half of Game 5, but took over the 2nd half as he played more in the paint and finished with 33 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 block while shooting 52.2% from the field but going 0-5 from three. Queta needs to find a way to stay out of foul trouble and to counter Embiid on defense.
Honorable MentionJayson Tatum vs Paul George
Neither of these players were able to play in any of the 4 games between Boston and Philly this season. In Game 1, George finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc, but he only took 8 shots. In game 2, he finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 53.8% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. In Game 3, he finished with 18 points, no rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc. In Game 4, he finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and 1 block while shooting 46.2% from the field and 3-3 from beyond the arc. In Game 5, he finished with 16 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals while shooting 46.2% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him better, especially on the perimeter.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is absolutely the key to winning this, and every, game. Defense becomes even more important in the playoffs. It is very true that defense wins championships. In Game 1, the Celtics held the 76ers to 38.9% from the field and 17.4% from beyond the arc. In game 2, the Celtics defense faltered as the 76ers shot 47.8% from the field and 48.7% from beyond the arc. In Game 3, the 76ers shot 43.7% from the field and 34.3% from beyond the arc. In Game 4, the Celtics held the 76ers to 41.3% from the field and 30% from beyond the arc. The Celtics allowed the 76ers to shoot 50% from the field and 35.7% from beyond the arc in Game 5. When the Celtics shot weren't falling in Game 5, the Celtics defense disappeared also. The Celtics have to play tough, physical, lock down defense from the opening tip until the final buzzer if they want to win this game.
Rebound - Rebounding is also one of the biggest keys to winning every game and has definitely been a big factor in this series. In the regular season, the Celtics were 43-12 in games that they tied or out-rebounded opponents and just 11-13 in games in which they were out-rebounded. In Game 1, the Celtics out-rebounded the 76ers 43-40. In Game 2, they out-rebounded the 76ers 50-42, but they were unable to capitalize on them since they shot so poorly. In Game 3, the Celtics once again out-rebounded the 76ers 45-37. And, in their big win in Game 4, they out-rebounded the 76ers 51-30. In Game 5, especially in the 2nd half, they stopped fighting for rebounds and the 76ers had 47 rebounds to 49 for the Celtics. They have to fight harder to grab rebounds than the 76ers if they want to win this game. Much of rebounding is effort and the Celtics need to put out more effort to grab rebounds then the 76ers.
3 Point Shooting - The Celtics are shooting 36.1% as a team from beyond the arc (5th) while the 76ers are shooting 34.9% from beyond the arc (8th). The Celtics make 16.8 threes a game (3rd) while the 76ers make 11.8 thees a game (6th). The Celtics were 2-4 in last year's playoffs. 0-2 in this year's playoffs and 14-17 in the regular season when they shoot under 34% from the field. In Game 2, they shot 26% from beyond the arc and in Game 5, they shot 28.2% on threes. They have to stay focused and they need to work to get open and move the ball to find the best shots. If the 3's aren't falling, they need to take the ball inside. And they need to defend the perimeter or the 76ers will beat them with 3's of their own. The Celtics need to stay focused on offense and play tough perimeter defense in order to win this game.
Effort and Focus for 48 Minutes - The Celtics have to play with extra effort overall for all 4 quarters. In their losses in Game 2 and Game 5, they allowed the 76ers to play with more energy than them for periods of time during the game. They play well for stretches but let up and allow the Sixers to surge ahead. The 76ers will be playing for their playoff lives and so will play hard and desperate and with all out effort. The Celtics must match that effort and they need to stay focused on playing the right way from the opening tip until the final buzzer.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics will be on the road once again and they will be facing a very hostile crowd. Philly fans hate the Celtics because they have pretty much owned them in recent years. They hate Jayson Tatum because the Celtics took him with Philly's pick after the 76ers traded up to take Markelle Fultz. There will likely be a lot of boos and the Celtics need to play through them. They have to shake off the distractions of playing on the road gand stay focused on playing Celtics basketball..
Coaching - Joe Mazzulla is in his 4th season as Celtics' head coach. He won a title in 2024 with a very talented team that was packed with shooting stars. Now he has to win in a different way since his personnel has changed and he did a great job in the regular season. Nick Nurse is in his 8th season as a head coach overall and his 3rd as the 76ers head coach. He won a title with the Raptors in 2019. In the playoffs, coaching becomes more important as it becomes a game of adjustments as they play the same team game after game. So far, Joe Mazzulla has come out ahead in the series but wasn't able to push the right buttons in Game 5 and so the coaching chess game will continue in Game 6.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. We have seen them call offensive fouls on Jaylen Brown far more than they have all season and Neemias Queta seems to be in constant foul trouble. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow the calls, no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.
Topic: Celtics (3-2) at 76ers (2-3) Round 1 Game 6 4/30/26 (Read 800 times)