The Celtics Frontcourt Can't Handle Joel Embiid

It's not going well right now in Boston.

Watching that game on Thursday night, that was tough.

Boston was up 3-1.

They've lost two straight.

Uh, they can't seem to score.

This vaunted offense has been held 100, 100 points for two straight games now.

They can't seem to do anything with this Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey pick and roll.

They can't do anything individually with Joel Embiid or Tyrese Maxey.

Uh, we're, we're into that danger zone right now with Boston headed into Game 7, man.

Yeah, no, 100%.

I think one thing that, that's happened in the past two games is, uh, Philly is through just haymakers, you know.

I think we, we keep talking about the offense situation right now.

One thing that I've noticed is that Boston has taken their time to get into their sets, and then even when they do, Philly's pushing them 5 or 6 ft above the three-point line and being so physical with them.

Um, we're talking about a lot of plays break down and one on one, but Philly's refusing to be screened.

They're literally being so physical with them in every aspect of the game, and I think one thing that they've been trying to take advantage of the past two games that hasn't been helping is trying to throw.

Joel Embiid in that pick and roll.

You've seen them trying to run the different types of Spain actions to try to mix things up, but I think the on-ball pressure has been, uh, tremendous.

I think, uh, you know, Joel has done a great job of stepping up and, you know, obviously in game, uh, what was it, Game 5, he came out hot.

Games, uh, the other game yesterday, he was, uh, a couple of days ago, he was literally just distributing, passing the ball around, taking what the defense gives him, but even then, just his presence, his presence was unbelievable.

And then you have to remember too, there's another dangerous individual.

Anytime Paul George is your 3rd, maybe 4th best player, I mean, that's hell to tell the captain.

It's, it's just we haven't seen it the whole year because they obviously have had, you know, injury issues, off the court issues and everything, but, you know, it seems like they're waking up at the right time and, and, you know, sometimes when teams smell blood or they also comprehend that they've disrupted you, it makes for a long night just like you've seen.

And, and I think Boston Celtics have to You know, hit back, get more aggressive, get more assertive, and also to just get into their sets, sets way quicker.

By the time they get across half court, they're, they're, they're staring at Paul George, staring at a set defense, and they're trying to make the most out of it.

And shout out to Quentin Grimes as well.

He's been doing, doing a hell of a job, but these guys are just bit down on their mouth guard and, and, and, and made this series crazy.

Yeah, the, the MBat stuff, um, I think it, it obviously took them a game to figure out how to reincorporate Mbiat, um.

They, they really haven't had their full complement of guys for more than a small number of games during this season.

Whether it's the Mbiid injury stuff, Paul George going out for the 25 games because of suspension, like they've been struggling to get exactly this mix that they've got on the floor.

And they look so bad in game 4.

Embiid was taking too many shots.

They were running the offense through him instead of Maxi and BG Edgecombe.

It was easy to say like, all right, well, they're not gonna get it right in the next couple of games and the Celtics, they've got their number, but they figured it out.

They figured all the things you're talking about out like they figured out the nice balance between Embiid and Maxi wasn't kind of the your turn, my turn stuff that we saw in game 4.

BJ Edgecombe is a, is a stud, like him, him picking up kind of where he left off in the first couple of games in games 5 and 6, and Paul George has been excellent too in these last couple of games, you know, on both ends of the floor.

What, what I'm What I'm surprised with, a couple of things I'm surprised with Boston.

One, they're, they're getting out physical, right?

And, and granted, like, you know, the Six are a physical team, especially with MB, but the Celtics, you know, they're At the wing position, they're supposed to be physical.

In the backcourt, they're supposed to be physical.

They're not being physical in these last couple of games of the series.

And the biggest concern that we had about Boston going into the playoffs, which for me was the front court, is becoming a glaring weakness in this series, especially with them being back.

Like they can't do anything to defend him.

Uh, Vusovich, we know is not a good defender.

You and I have talked about him in the past, but if you're going to be a bad defender, at least make shots, and he's not making three-point shots.

I think he's 7 for 24 from three-point range, uh, in this series.

It's He, he's, he's a net negative when he's not out there making 3s and look, I thought Kata was a candidate for most improved.

He hasn't been great in this series.

Vusovich hasn't been great.

Luca Garza was OK down the stretch in garbage time, uh, but they don't have answers right now in that front court, and Embiid is getting confidence.

The everybody in Philadelphia is getting confidence, and I, I think this is gonna be a really tough game 7.

100%.

And also too, man, when you wake up and you have to like wipe your eyes, you're like, holy shit, that's Mbiid.

Like, like, do you know what I'm saying?

Like, everything we're talking about, and I'm just coming from a player, I was never like MB, but I'm almost pretty sure Mbiid it's like, bro, the second I get to feeling good.

I wish they would put Kada Vusovich or Garza on me, and I think Nobody foreseeing him feeling this good playing at this high a level.

And like I said prior, because we, we haven't seen them play together consistently.

And you know, in basketball, it's a game of runs, but I don't want to go against, you know, the toughness of the Celtics.

You know what I mean?

Like Jason and Jalen, and those, those boys seen a lot.

So, you're going to Boston Garden, and, you know, advance for the first time in forever.

Um, I mean, you're gonna have to go up against Tu, you're gonna have to kill them.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, I, I'm, I'm a little worried though about the state of Jayson Tatum going into this game 7.

We saw him dealing with a left calf injury during game 6, not the same leg that was surgically repaired.

Uh, but, you know, there is, uh, you know, when I was getting text messages after the fact, people around the league, there is a measure of predictability to what happened there because when you're coming back from that type of injury.

Well, you're gonna be compensating, overcompensating sometimes, pushing too hard off of 1 ft.

So you had to expect some kind of setbacks maybe along the way.

Tatum says he's fine, he says he's gonna play, but, you know, he was just jacking 3s last night and wasn't even close to them.

Jalen Brown was committing turnovers.

He wasn't playing with the kind of force.

That we're used to seeing them play with.

I don't think Joe Missoula made any great adjustments during this game.

He can't stop Mbiat.

He can't stop Maxi.

I think the one good thing Joe did during game 6 was that he told his bench guys.

Just go out there and run the Sixers off the floor down the stretch.

Like they were pressing with like Jordan Walsh and Baylor Shireman.

This is when Philly had to keep their guys in the game and they were just, uh, it felt like they were trying to lower that gas tank of Philadelphia with their bench guys over the last 1011 minutes of the 4th quarter.

Maybe that'll pay dividends at some point in game 7, but man, this is, this is a big game 7 like.

There's no denying if you lose, even with all the stuff they had happened this season, you lose to Philadelphia in the first round after being up 3-1, that is a crushing series loss.

That is not something you can just chalk up to like, well, it's been a quirky season.

We overachieved.

No, no, no, no, no.

You came into this series with the expectation that you would win it.

You came into these conference playoffs with the Expectation you were going to be the best team in it, could have gone to the finals.

You get beat in the first round.

Somebody's got to take some of the blame for this, some real blame.

Oh, no, absolutely.

Every, every, and, and that goes without saying that I think, uh, like you said, I don't think the narrative is gonna be anything like, oh, it's a quirky year.

It's gonna be like, hey man, how'd you, how'd you drop this, this ball, you know, especially going to be in Philadelphia.

Who, like we said prior, they've been inconsistent.

I've been on them the whole year being like, yo, they got blow this up.

They gotta do this, they gotta do that.

Um, I spoke to Jason last night.

He didn't seem too worried, um, at all.

I just think one thing that occurs right now at this level is when they show up on, on, uh, tomorrow, um, Be ready to throw some punches, man.

Be ready to get physical.

Be ready to, uh, you know, defend your spot, earn your spot, and, uh, you know, get into a battle.

I think if they assert themselves and push forward, they'll be perfectly OK.

They've just been responding and reacting.

And like you said, I don't think There were some good adjustments made offensively, where when you sat there, it's just like, hey, we're, we're starting to, our plays too far up, too far out of action, and we don't have much time to, uh, to get something else on the second side once the play does break down.

So.

You score in transition.

You get some stops early.

Everything else is seem a little different.

And that's kind of the vexing part about the Celtics.

They were so good offensively this year.

Like they were better offensively this year in terms of rating than they were last year, which is one of the most remarkable statistics in the league this season, but they have been just flummoxed.

Over the last couple of games.

I like the shot selection has not been good.

They continue to be maybe too reliant at times on the three-point shot and when it, when it hits, look, it's great.

I think through the 1st 5 games, they were, 1st 4 games, they're + 87 from 3, uh, 3-point range.

Now, Those shots just aren't falling uh for Boston.

We'll see how they come out.

Look, it's, it's really hard, as you well know, to Beat a team 3 games in a row in the playoffs.

Takes a lot, and I do think the Sixers burned a lot of gas over these last couple of games.

Maybe the Celtics get a bounce on their home floor, but it's a pretty, it's a pretty important game for this, this team, this organization, and, uh, our boy Derrick White gotta show up, you know what I mean?

Like, like, yeah, guys, guys gotta show up and perform.

Like they, like their, their 4th man VJ Edgecombe is balling.

Like, you understand what I'm saying, like we gotta.

The big, the big dogs got to show up, handle their business.

Even like when it comes down to it, we talked about Tatum so heavily, he slid back into a spot, but like D White, it's the same thing when Jalen Brown was like, hey, take a break.

I'm a guard Paul.

Like, we still need that 15 or 16 or, you know, the Superman moments every 4 or 5 games due to the fact that like, Certain things are going to be overhead for players that just came back in rotation.

You've been here the whole year, you, Peyton, and Jalen.

Like, step up, steer the ship, and, you know, kind of, you know, in a sense, help Jalen, help Jason a little bit and, and make sure he's there, that he's gonna matter just as much as anybody.

And, you know, a rookie, VJ Edgecombe is good, but he can't have more impact than him.

Quentin Grimes can't have more impact.

Quentin Grimes is unbelievable just on the, on the defensive end of the ball, you know what I'm saying?

So, Derrick White needs to step up as well.

Um, I know we're bringing up Cato.

I know we're bringing up Vusovich, but there's a few guys that have been there, been part of that culture, and, uh, I expect them to come with it.

Yeah, I think White's a, he's gonna be a critical figure in this game 7.

I mean, I, I, him and Maxi to me were like neck and neck for one of those last all NBA spots, uh, and he's getting outplayed by Maxi so far in this series, and nobody expects him to do the things that Maxi does.

He's not the offensive type of player, but you gotta be elite defensively.

You gotta make open threes.

Uh, and it hasn't been a great series so far for Derrick White.