76ers (3-3) at Celtics (3-3) Round 1 Game 7 5/2/26

[celticinorlando]

This is kind of a random and more broader question, but outside of the final two series of 2024, how is it that the Celtics are just so bad at home???

Idk the record but it can't be good in the past decade. 1-3 this round, 1-2 last year in the Knicks series. Some bad ones in crucial moments like 2018 and 2023 ECF Game 7 + 2022 Finals Game 6. Even went like 1-3 in the 2023 ECF series to Miami in a series they lost in 7.

You see teams and fanbases clamoring for higher seeding for HCA and to make an impact in the postseason, yet TD Garden is just cursed. And the fans here are passionate, but it doesn't translate to the product. Seriously, 1-3 this round, and they lost Game 2 by double digits without Embiid too. Embarassing. Also even 2024, lose Game 2s in the first two rounds to MIA + CLE. Crazy.

And they BARELY beat the pacers at home in 2024.
Lost 3 straight home games in this series...there was time when nobody won in Boston in the playoffs multiple games

[Muzzy66]

Joe's stupid philosophy of keep chucking threes even after a big lead cost us the Knick series last season.

The same philosophy of keep chucking threes even when the shots won't fall cost us the Sixers series this season.


Do we want to do it again?

After the recent collapses, Joe should be telling guys on the team that anyone who takes more two or more questionable threes in a game will be getting benched immediately. 

This is not an issue of guys taking threes, it's an issue or guys PRIORITISING threes.  If the three is the best shot you have avaialble then you should take it, but you should always be trying first and foremost to find a lower risk shot. 

This reliance on analytics has destroyed the NBA.  The whole idea of "a three is more efficient then a middy" only holds true if you can rely on that three point shooting consistently in 80%+ of games, like the Warriors could when they had 2-3 all-time great shooters (Steph, Klay, Durant) out there on the court. 

Only elite shooters should be given a green from three.  Pritchard is really the only guy on this team who might be able to make a case for that.  Anyone else on this roster should only be taking threes when it's wide open.

Joe will argue math is on his favor.  My math says 75% of the years he's been here his team has under achieved.

At this point I think I'd even rather drag Doc Rivers back here than suffer through any more years of Joe's mentality.  I don't think there is actually anything more frurstating in basketball than losing from relying excessviely on three point shooting from a team that is anything less than elite at thee point shooting.

[Muzzy66]

This is kind of a random and more broader question, but outside of the final two series of 2024, how is it that the Celtics are just so bad at home???

Idk the record but it can't be good in the past decade. 1-3 this round, 1-2 last year in the Knicks series. Some bad ones in crucial moments like 2018 and 2023 ECF Game 7 + 2022 Finals Game 6. Even went like 1-3 in the 2023 ECF series to Miami in a series they lost in 7.

You see teams and fanbases clamoring for higher seeding for HCA and to make an impact in the postseason, yet TD Garden is just cursed. And the fans here are passionate, but it doesn't translate to the product. Seriously, 1-3 this round, and they lost Game 2 by double digits without Embiid too. Embarassing. Also even 2024, lose Game 2s in the first two rounds to MIA + CLE. Crazy.

And they BARELY beat the pacers at home in 2024.
Lost 3 straight home games in this series...there was time when nobody won in Boston in the playoffs multiple games

I miss the days of watching the Celtics with Avery Bradley, Keeyong Dooling and Marquis Daniels. 

That team was outmatched on talent every single night they stepped on the floor, but every single night they played hard and played to win.  This team looked like that for large stetches of the regular season only to throw it all down the toilet when it mattered most. 

Image a Celtics team that plays so poorly in key playoff moments that they made Joe Embiid and the Sixers look clutch by comparison.  I'm having a very difficult time dealing with that. 

[celticinorlando]

My biggest fear is Brad does nothing with this roster and only adds a first round pick to the roster and runs it back as is.

[Phantom255x]

Saw this on Reddit and OOF...

Started the season 0-3 & ended the season 0-3.

Also, we lost our first game of the season to Philly, and our final game of the season to them too

[SparzWizard]

Joe said his odd starting lineup was because he had a few things tactically he wanted to test out.

The time to experiment was during the regular season.

But okay, you were up 2-1 and 3-1 and you didn't bother experimenting until Game 7. Get out of here Joke Mazzulla

[Phantom255x]

Also, let this be a grand lesson about the importance of taking care of business in the first round ASAP. Tatum got hurt in Game 6 and it ended up resulting in him missing Game 7. You could argue Game 6 shouldn't have even happened if they just took care of business Game 5. It's not just the extra minutes, but the actual risk of injury when you extend a series. All it can take sometimes is a bad fall or someone rolling on to your ankle in that extra game you play in an early round.

[SparzWizard]

This is kind of a random and more broader question, but outside of the final two series of 2024, how is it that the Celtics are just so bad at home???

Idk the record but it can't be good in the past decade. 1-3 this round, 1-2 last year in the Knicks series. Some bad ones in crucial moments like 2018 and 2023 ECF Game 7 + 2022 Finals Game 6. Even went like 1-3 in the 2023 ECF series to Miami in a series they lost in 7.

You see teams and fanbases clamoring for higher seeding for HCA and to make an impact in the postseason, yet TD Garden is just cursed. And the fans here are passionate, but it doesn't translate to the product. Seriously, 1-3 this round, and they lost Game 2 by double digits without Embiid too. Embarassing. Also even 2024, lose Game 2s in the first two rounds to MIA + CLE. Crazy.

And they BARELY beat the pacers at home in 2024.
Lost 3 straight home games in this series...there was time when nobody won in Boston in the playoffs multiple games

Reminds me of the Patriots where teams just come into Foxboro and steamroll them post-Brady.

Gone are those days where Boston was a house of horrors for many opponents. Now we look like a joke

[celticinorlando]

Also, let this be a grand lesson about the importance of taking care of business in the first round ASAP. Tatum got hurt in Game 6 and it ended up resulting in him missing Game 7. You could argue Game 6 shouldn't have even happened if they just took care of business Game 5. It's not just the extra minutes, but the actual risk of injury when you extend a series. All it can take sometimes is a bad fall or someone rolling on to your ankle in that extra game you play in an early round.

I think the series was really lost in game 2. It gave Philly hope and it bought them time to get Embiid back. Boston wins that game, it crushes the Sixers spirit and it is over.

Boston played with their food in games 2 and 5 and it cost them. Even after game 4, the philly folks were calling this the worst philly roster in a long time. It was over for them.

Then Game 5, up 13 in the 3rd and something happened to the Cs. They never recovered from that quarter and a half. Philly was ready to quit and the Cs let them have hope.

[Who]

Maxey had 30pts on 11-18 FGA and 6-6 FTA. Of his 11-18 FGA, only 2-4 were 3PT. 1-1 on long twos. 2-4 on midrangers. So 6-9 in the paint. Half his shot attempts came in the paint.

Maxey had 30pts 11reb and 7ast. Only 1 turnover. That is a phenomenal stat line. A great performance.

[ozgod]

Maxey had 30pts on 11-18 FGA and 6-6 FTA. Of his 11-18 FGA, only 2-4 were 3PT. 1-1 on long twos. 2-4 on midrangers. So 6-9 in the paint. Half his shot attempts came in the paint.

Maxey had 30pts 11reb and 7ast. Only 1 turnover. That is a phenomenal stat line. A great performance.

Yes, and when the advanced box score comes out, I?m sure that 6-9 in the paint will show that they came on drives because we couldn?t stay in front of him then we had no rim protector, and our help defenders were scared to come off their men and risk a three

[Celtics2021]

My biggest fear is Brad does nothing with this roster and only adds a first round pick to the roster and runs it back as is.

I do not think we will see Vooch back.  The Celtics will have roughly $15 million in room under the tax, and several ways to spend that money.  There will be at least one change.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

My biggest fear is Brad does nothing with this roster and only adds a first round pick to the roster and runs it back as is.

I do not think we will see Vooch back.  The Celtics will have roughly $15 million in room under the tax, and several ways to spend that money.  There will be at least one change.

1 change? good. fire joe

[SparzWizard]

Maybe we should've tanked for AJ Dybansta in the beginning instead of playing for this mirage of a playoffs contention

[Who]

I want to point out something about Jaylen's +/- of -16.

I was annoyed at the starting lineup and the -11 hole Mazzula put the team in by starting Garza. Garza got 1pt back before halftime (final 1:10 of Q2) and finished a -10 at the half. Queta starts Q3 but picks up an early foul. Garza replaces him. He checks in at 10:53 and checks out at 9:39 so he played just over a minute. Picked up a stupid foul. Philly also scored 5pts in that minute. So he finished with -15 in 9 minutes in a 9pts loss. So the Celtics were +6 in non-Garza minutes (39min of playing time).

Back to Jaylen. Jaylen was on the court for all of Garza's minutes. So Garza's -15 is there in Jaylen's -16. Jaylen was -1 for the game in non-Garza minutes.

What we are seeing in Jaylen's +/- numbers is Garza = how badly the team played with Garza on the floor.

Jaylen is stick he does not deserve for his +/- in this game. The blame for that number is because he was on the floor alongside Garza when Garza was killing the team.

On a related note, Queta was a +9 in his 33min. That would mean they were a -3 in the non-Queta non-Garza minutes. The small ball lineups with Hugo / Jaylen at center (6min).