4 Reasons Celtics Lost Game 6 to Sixers, Including 1 Problem at the Center of it All

The Celtics have gotten away from the one thing that has made them successfull all season, and it's crushing their chances against the Sixers

Apr 30, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives against Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

PHILADELPHIA — This game looked very much like a two seed having its way with a seventh seed, except the Sixers and Boston Celtics looked like they flipped places in the standings. Philadelphia came out with great energy and focus, while the Celtics looked slow and confused for most of the game. Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters early in the fourth and they made a little run, but it wasn’t enough. 

Here are four reasons they lost

Their offense was awful 

The Sixers took 10 more shots than the Celtics through three quarters, mostly because the Celtics turned it over 12 times and allowed four more offensive rebounds. The Sixers had 82 points going into the fourth but were shooting below 44%. The Celtics had a lot of openings throughout the game to capitalize on Sixers misses, but they couldn't generate any kind of cohesive offense, mostly because most of it was slow-paced matchup hunting. 

After a full season of Mazzulla emphasizing the offense was about creating two-on-ones and making reads off that, the offense the past two games has been Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown picking out a matchup and slowing the game down as they tried to carry the offense. It has killed their whole flow. 

Jaylen Brown had his worst game in a long time

Brown made some tough shots, but at what cost? The Sixers defense is generally mediocre when it is forced to make decisions. But any defense can get 25% better when only one player has to move and the other four can just take up space. It kind of becomes a zone defense by default since guys don’t really have to move. 

Brown turned the ball over five times and got smoked on a few back cuts defensively, all leading to him being -24 on the night. 

Brown getting back cut is an old symptom of him being in his own head. He had gotten away from that for a long time. 

Neemias Queta is really struggling

This is a tough time to turn into a pumpkin. Queta has been so good this season, but he looks to have taken a big step backwards. He can’t finish around the rim like he had been, he’s making bad mistakes, and committing bad fouls. Even if some of those fouls were embellished by the Sixers, they were fouls. 

The Celtics couldn't get second chances 

They had just three offensive rebounds through three quarters. The Celtics offense can’t survive shooting 40% without some offensive rebounds. This is a function of them not moving the ball on offense and creating openings to attack from the corners. 

When four defenders can kind of hang around, they can all converge on the paint and grab whatever rebound comes their way. 

So all of the Celtics advantages, from being able bend defenses, to getting second chances, to getting back to set a defense all disappeared, and the epicenter of it all is a stagnant offense. It’s essentially hero ball, which is something we haven't seen all year.