Embiid or no Embiid, Celtics are ready for a fight with the 76ers

BOSTON  -- Joel Embiid is obviously a gigantic part of the 76ers' success. Philadelphia's monster center is probably going to bring home his first MVP award in the coming weeks after another incredible season.

But it doesn't sound like he'll be on the floor for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals in Boston on Monday night. Embiid is doubtful for the first game of the series with a knee injury he suffered nearly two weeks ago during Philadelphia's first-round sweep of the Brooklyn Nets. His health going forward will obviously have a massive impact during the series against the Celtics.

The Celtics are favored heading into the matchup, and that will be enhanced if Embiid misses time. For Boston, that means preparing for two different versions of the 76ers.

"They play a little bit faster. Obviously, each guy's more aggressive, I think," head coach Joe Mazzulla said of the non-Embiid version of the 76ers. "They're more empowered, whether it's [James] Harden, whether it's [Tyrese] Maxey, whether it's [Tobias] Harris. They're looking to affect the game in different ways, and they play a little bit of a different pace."

Philly's supporting cast around Embiid is a pretty good one, led by Harden's shot- and play-making abilities. While playing against the 76ers without Embiid will likely mean a few less bumps and shoves for Boston defenders, it won't change the way they see their upcoming matchup. 

It's going to be a fight either way.

"It doesn't change our mindset; it does change our game plan," said guard Malcolm Brogdon. "That's a team that's built around Joel. Everything he does, all the isos, just a high level of scoring. Now that scoring is going to be a little bit dispersed; Harden's going to be more aggressive, Maxey is going to be more aggressive, and then all the role guys of course are going to be more aggressive. They've got a lot of good players, so we can't just focus in on one guy."

"They're a great team with or without him," added Celtics big man Robert Williams. "He's a superstar in the league, and no matter what, we have to be ready for a hard-fighting team."

Williams said that Boston will look to slow down Philadelphia's speed and tempo on Monday. He added that the team's preparation didn't lighten up at all when it began to sound like Embiid would miss Game 1 late last week.

"Preparation is the same. These are playoff games so you approach them with the most intensity," he said. "They're a great team with him or without him, so we'll approach it with the same intensity."

The Celtics have a pretty good game plan whenever they face Embiid. They defend him hard, but their focus is usually slowing him down while stopping everyone else. Embiid tends to rack up plenty of points and rebounds against Boston, but with Celtics defenders hounding everyone else, the big man has pretty much do it all on his own.

Life will be easier without Embiid out there, but it won't be easy on Monday night. Not by any stretch. That's something the Celtics occasionally forget when an opposing star on the other side is out, as we saw a handful of times throughout the regular season.

That will not be the case with so much on the line Monday night.

"Anytime you get to this point in the playoffs, it's always going to be a challenge," said Jaylen Brown. "Teams game planning for each other, both teams are physically and mentally fatigued, and you've got to find a way to win."

The Celtics grew lackadaisical at times in their first-round series against the seven-seeded Atlanta Hawks, and needed six games to advance when they probably could have taken care of business in four or five. It was a nice reminder of just how challenging life is in the postseason.

"It was a great series and Atlanta really pushed us. Showed us that we can't ease into anything and not to expect anything to be given to us," said Williams.