Celtics (3-2) at 76ers (2-3) Round 1 Game 6 4/30/26

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

and there it is

announcer just said we have NOBODY to throw it to down low like philly does.

BINGO we have no inside game.

Thanks joe!

as joe came on post game i turned this garbage off done looking at that fool

[Who]

and there it is

announcer just said we have NOBODY to throw it to down low like philly does.

BINGO we have no inside game.

Thanks joe!

as joe came on post game i turned this garbage off done looking at that fool

We do = Vucevic

The team missed him a number of times tonight when he had position inside. They also miss him a number of times when he is open outside. They do not look for him. They do not pass him the ball.

They haven't learned how to play with Vucevic yet.

[SparzWizard]

JB and White have somehow completely regressed since the playoffs started. Not winning anything with them playing like that.

Do you feel this has to do with Tatum coming back in and gradually increasing his usage? Because before when Tatum came back he made a point to e more of a rebounder and facilitator, and now his usage has gone up to "old Tatum" and it seems to have really affected those two the most. White's usage in the playoffs is down to 12% from 20% in the regular season.

D White just can't shoot at the moment. He doesn't trust his shot. That is the main reason his usage numbers are down. He doesn't want to shoot. He thinks he will miss.

Well, he may have shot his last shots here in Boston.

[radiohead]

and there it is

announcer just said we have NOBODY to throw it to down low like philly does.

BINGO we have no inside game.

Thanks joe!

as joe came on post game i turned this garbage off done looking at that fool

The lobs to Queta have vanished. That was supposed to be a weapon, the 2 man game with JT.

[hodgy03038]

I guess they do want Boston! Philly is clearly the better team right now. Can we fix this in 2 days? Will JB stop the offensive fouls and getting into foul trouble early? Can we make our FREE throws?

Iam scared.

[Phantom255x]

Either way I'm fully convinced Game 7 will be a blowout of any kind. It won't be a close game. In fact that's how most Celtics Game 7s have gone in recent memory, the only exception was maybe 2018 Cavaliers ECF but that was still controlled by the Cavaliers in the 2nd half mostly.

[jpotter33]

So whatever happened to Hugo? Couldn't even get minutes tonight. Also - like how do we not go to more Baylor when Hauser is playing so subpar? Feels like a situation of Joe putting too much trust in his guys he's had longer.

[Who]

and there it is

announcer just said we have NOBODY to throw it to down low like philly does.

BINGO we have no inside game.

Thanks joe!

as joe came on post game i turned this garbage off done looking at that fool

The lobs to Queta have vanished. That was supposed to be a weapon, the 2 man game with JT.

Jaylen is doing a better job looking for Queta on those rolls / cuts to the basket than Tatum is.

[radiohead]

and there it is

announcer just said we have NOBODY to throw it to down low like philly does.

BINGO we have no inside game.

Thanks joe!

as joe came on post game i turned this garbage off done looking at that fool

The lobs to Queta have vanished. That was supposed to be a weapon, the 2 man game with JT.

Jaylen is doing a better job looking for Queta on those rolls / cuts to the basket than Tatum is.

We haven?t seen that much though?

[Phantom255x]

So whatever happened to Hugo? Couldn't even get minutes tonight. Also - like how do we not go to more Baylor when Hauser is playing so subpar? Feels like a situation of Joe putting too much trust in his guys he's had longer.

No clue but I'm more confused why Hauser is even getting significant playing time (18-22 minutes) over guys like Baylor. He's really only had one good game and isn't hitting 3s, and it's not like he's great defensively so he becomes a liability.

As for White, I guess they got to at least try and hope he gets over it, but on Saturday if he misses the first few shots it needs to be a quick pull to Pritchard and maybe have more bench guys involved. I feel the bench guys actually make life a bit tough on PHI just by their speed and defense, which even Jaylen/White have been subpar on this series. Walsh has done a good job on Maxey when he's on him.

[SparzWizard]

Hey Jaylen, Maxey said "don't let us get one." in Game 5

Tonight he tells you "don't let us get another one" after Game 6

Where u at Jaylen Brown? U had a lot to say. Now it's super quiet.

[Muzzy66]

JB and White have somehow completely regressed since the playoffs started. Not winning anything with them playing like that.

Do you feel this has to do with Tatum coming back in and gradually increasing his usage? Because before when Tatum came back he made a point to e more of a rebounder and facilitator, and now his usage has gone up to "old Tatum" and it seems to have really affected those two the most. White's usage in the playoffs is down to 12% from 20% in the regular season.

I don't think it is a factor for D White but I definitely believe it is a factor for both (1) Jaylen (2) the role player perimeter guys.

Tatum's return has disrupted the rhythm of the team. The ball is sticking to his hands. Not as much ball movement. The young wings like J Walsh, Baylor, Hugo are all off ball more than they were earlier. They were more involved in the offense - in moving the ball - earlier in the season. Now they are standing on the 3 point not involved. And they are struggling.

For JB, the team revolved around him. And it continued going to him regardless of how the game was going. Now he is getting the ball in less primary positions and more secondary spots which are less advantageous + if he gives up the ball, he is unlikely to get it back because Tatum will do something with it.

So yeah, I believe Tatum's return has disrupted (1) JB (2) the young perimeter guys. I don't think he has upset Pritchard or D White as much. They seem stable going back to smaller roles. D White just can't shoot at the moment. He doesn't trust his shot. That is the main reason his usage numbers are down. He doesn't want to shoot. He thinks he will miss.

I can't say that I agree with this. 

The bench guys have been playing great during the regular season while Tatum was in the lineup, including towards the end of the season when his scoring was going back towards old Tatum levels.  If anything I feel like those guys were benefiting from the extra attention Tatum was drawing. 

I feel like the difference here is moreso that:

1. Our bench players (aside from Vucevic) are very young and not very experienced with playing big minutes in pressure situations.  Even Vuc hasn't played a lot of meaningful playoff minutes.

2. Joe seems insistent on restricting the roles of those bench guys and relying heavily on our core veterans.  I'm not going to judge him too much on that, because the young guys do indeed seem to be struggling at little under the playoff pressure.

3. White has struggled with shooting all season, but it wasn't as much of a problem through most of the season because those young guys were playing so well off the bench. Once those young guys start feeling pressure and start struggling it puts more pressure on the starters to carry the load.  When our other two starters are Hauser( role player) and Queta (can't stay on the court) then we suddenly become hugely reliant on White to help carry the load, which he hasn't been able to do for most of this season. 

4. Pritchard has been big and has helped a lot, but he's not a superstar and he's going to have his cold nights.

What all of this means is that there is now a huge amount of pressure placed on Tatum and Brown to really put the team on their shoulders and carry the load.  Brown has stuggled a little to do that, and Tatum is 2 months back from an Achilles so he's still not 100% himself.  Some would argue that he shouldn't even be playing.

For the Celtics to win under these conditions either Tatum and Brown both need to be great, or their defence needs to be elite.  It's hard for their defence to be elite when Queta can't stay on the court.

[Phantom255x]

Game 7 is officially Saturday, 7:30 PM on NBC

https://x.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/2050066158313742709

Celtics-Sixers will be the stand alone Game 7 on Saturday.

7:30 start on NBC.

[Who]

It is amazing to see how well Pritchard uses his body to push off the rookie Edgecombe to create space for a paint finish.

[Who]

JB and White have somehow completely regressed since the playoffs started. Not winning anything with them playing like that.

Do you feel this has to do with Tatum coming back in and gradually increasing his usage? Because before when Tatum came back he made a point to e more of a rebounder and facilitator, and now his usage has gone up to "old Tatum" and it seems to have really affected those two the most. White's usage in the playoffs is down to 12% from 20% in the regular season.

I don't think it is a factor for D White but I definitely believe it is a factor for both (1) Jaylen (2) the role player perimeter guys.

Tatum's return has disrupted the rhythm of the team. The ball is sticking to his hands. Not as much ball movement. The young wings like J Walsh, Baylor, Hugo are all off ball more than they were earlier. They were more involved in the offense - in moving the ball - earlier in the season. Now they are standing on the 3 point not involved. And they are struggling.

For JB, the team revolved around him. And it continued going to him regardless of how the game was going. Now he is getting the ball in less primary positions and more secondary spots which are less advantageous + if he gives up the ball, he is unlikely to get it back because Tatum will do something with it.

So yeah, I believe Tatum's return has disrupted (1) JB (2) the young perimeter guys. I don't think he has upset Pritchard or D White as much. They seem stable going back to smaller roles. D White just can't shoot at the moment. He doesn't trust his shot. That is the main reason his usage numbers are down. He doesn't want to shoot. He thinks he will miss.

I can't say that I agree with this. 

The bench guys have been playing great during the regular season while Tatum was in the lineup, including towards the end of the season when his scoring was going back towards old Tatum levels.  If anything I feel like those guys were benefiting from the extra attention Tatum was drawing. 

I feel like the difference here is moreso that:

1. Our bench players (aside from Vucevic) are very young and not very experienced with playing big minutes in pressure situations.  Even Vuc hasn't played a lot of meaningful playoff minutes.

2. Joe seems insistent on restricting the roles of those bench guys and relying heavily on our core veterans.  I'm not going to judge him too much on that, because the young guys do indeed seem to be struggling at little under the playoff pressure.

3. White has struggled with shooting all season, but it wasn't as much of a problem through most of the season because those young guys were playing so well off the bench. Once those young guys start feeling pressure and start struggling it puts more pressure on the starters to carry the load.  When our other two starters are Hauser( role player) and Queta (can't stay on the court) then we suddenly become hugely reliant on White to help carry the load, which he hasn't been able to do for most of this season. 

4. Pritchard has been big and has helped a lot, but he's not a superstar and he's going to have his cold nights.

What all of this means is that there is now a huge amount of pressure placed on Tatum and Brown to really put the team on their shoulders and carry the load.  Brown has stuggled a little to do that, and Tatum is 2 months back from an Achilles so he's still not 100% himself.  Some would argue that he shouldn't even be playing.

For the Celtics to win under these conditions either Tatum and Brown both need to be great, or their defence needs to be elite.  It's hard for their defence to be elite when Queta can't stay on the court.

I am with you 100% on the inexperience.

I am looking Queta most of all in this regard. Then the young perimeter role players.

This is part of the reason why I am starting to feel this is indeed a transition season. That we will have to wait until next season to see this group play at their full potential.

(1) Inexperience of Queta and young perimeter guys. This will improve next year.
(2) Chemistry with Tatum not right. Tatum still working back to 100%. This will improve next year as well.
(3) Vucevic isn't bedded in. Midseason acquisition. Then got hurt. Doesn't have enough reps. Isn't utilized on offense and a little lost on defense. He will be better next year after he gets fully aclimated.

Then they win the title.