Celtics-Sixers Gm. 6 Player Grades, Stats, Analysis: Stagnant Stars Must Regain form

PHILADELPHIA — The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are heading to a Game 7 in their first round series after another convincing Sixers win, 106-93. The Celtics offense was stagnant once again, leaving the Celtics looking slow and confused. The Celtics offense scored less than 100 points nine times this season, or about 11% of the time. They've now done it in three of their six games against the Sixers, squandering an opportunity to get rest ahead of the second round and now fighting for the chance to even advance.

Box Score

Game Flow

The Sixers came out to an 11-4 run, not because they dominated or anything, but because Boston missed more shots than Philly did. They missed layups and turned the ball over, but settled down by the 6:24 mark to cut it to three. That grew to a 10-2 run to take the lead. It went back and forth, with good C’s defense and rebounding holding the Sixers to 20 in the first, and Jayson Tatum’s nine points helping Boston to 23.

Both teams went back-and-forth for the first half of the second quarter, with the score sitting at 38-36 Philadelphia at the 6:06 mark. The Sixers then went on a 13-6 run to open up a nine-point lead. The Sixers used a balanced attack, hitting more threes and free throws to build that lead. The Celtics allowed 38 points in the second, going into halftime down 58-49.

The Celtics looked slow and confused in the third as the Sixers lead grew to 21. The offense devolved into too much isolation and mismatch hunting while the Sixers were getting across-the-board contributions from Tyrese Maxey, Paul George, and others. Boston only scored 14 points in the fourth.

The Celtics pulled the plug early in the fourth, throwing Pritchard out there with Baylor Scheierman, Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, and Ron Harper Jr., but that group went on a 11-0 run and cut the lead to 12. It was short-lived, though, as the Sixers hit a few shots and ended any faint Boston hopes.

Player Grades

4th Quarter bench unit: A

Garza and Harper Jr. were +10 in the fourth quarter. Walsh and Scheierman were +6. They combined for 30 points by playing actual basketball.

“Give those guys credit … They just had a good pop about them, a good pace,” Tatum said. “They was moving the ball well, getting downhill, kicking it out. So they were just playing Celtics basketball. And I think it was inspiring to, obviously, the starting group and just get back to playing how we're accustomed to.”

Brown was more blunt about it, saying "They just played harder. That group came out, was able to cut into their lead because they played harder. The group before that, we didn't play hard enough."

I’m a firm believer in the worst thing that happens sometimes being the best thing that happens, and what I’m hoping for Boston is that Tatum meant what he said about being inspired by that group, that the starters saw that and recognized that they got away from it, and that Game 7 will be different.

Jayson Tatum: B (17 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 turnovers)

He shot 6-13 and hit his first two three-pointers, usually a sign that a big night was coming, but he missed his next four. What’s worse, he was seen trying to test out an apparent leg issue in the third quarter. Both Tatum and Joe Mazzulla say he’ll play in Game 7.

“It was my other leg. So not the one I injured last year,” he said after the game. “I wasn't like overly concerned. I came out at four minutes like I was supposed to and just kind of assessed the game. And they took the starters out fairly early in the fourth quarter. So yeah, it was not like that big of a deal.”

Jaylen Brown: D- (18 points, 7-17 fg, 2-6 3pt, 2-6 ft, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 5 turnovers)

It’s not an F because he hit some tough shots, but even that probably shouldn’t be enough to raise his grade that way.

Brown is the number one culprit in the stagnation of the offense. He has gotten away from the ball movement and is trying to win these games on his own. To put it bluntly, I think who he thinks he is and needs to be is very different from who he is at his actual best. I also think he might be realizing some of that.

"I think we're playing into their hands a little bit,” Brown said. “I definitely think, even myself, the type of shots, the type of things they want us to do. That's not what we've been doing all year. But maybe a shift in your approach can open some stuff up offensively for us. I think that's what we need, the need for me to be dynamic … I gotta be better than that. I gotta help my group."

Also, make your free throws. Between the iso play, back-cuts, and missed free throws, this was the absolute worst version of Jaylen Brown.

Derrick White: C (11 points, 3-8 fg, 3-6 3pt, 3 steals, 1 rebound, 1 assist)

Derrick White is the canary in the coal mine. When the Celtics offense is bad, he’s generally not great either. When the Celtics offense is really good, he tends to find openings to be better. The Celtics need White to be a disruptor, an offensive rebounder, and an outlet to make defenses pay for collapsing on Brown or Tatum. When the floor isn’t spaced well, the offense isn’t moving, and there are no lanes for him to crash from the corner, then he’s nowhere near as effective.

Neemias Queta: C- (4 points, 2-5 fg, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks)

The rebounding and blocked shots are nice, but the foul trouble remains the biggest problem. I understand there was some flopping involved, but he is still sloppy on his screens and it’s gotten to a point where the Sixers are anticipating it and making him pay.

I don’t want to pull the 82 game player vs. 16 game player question with Queta yet. But it’s becoming a fair question to ask, and it’s making me wonder if the offseason priority is finding a starting-level center after all.

Nikola Vucevic: C- (2 points, 1-5 fg, 0-2 3pt, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)

He’s matching up with Embiid, which means he’s supposed to be a floor spacer. Well, that means he has to set picks, pop, and hit shots. Which also means the Celtics need to run a higher-tempo offense to use him that way.

Sam Hauser: C (5 points, 2-6 fg, 1-5 3pt, 4 reb, 1 assist)

He has to hit shots. He just has to. The season will end very soon if he can’t.

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