Celtics-76ers What To Watch For
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- One of the NBA's most historic rivalries is set to be renewed with the Celtics and 76ers squaring off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The 76ers are the hottest team in the NBA, winning 20 of their last 21 going back to the regular season. They're a healthy squad and though inexperienced at this level, are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference at the moment.
The Celtics, meanwhile, are a gritty bunch that keeps overcoming whatever adversity lands at their doorstep. The injuries keep piling up, with Jaylen Brown doubtful for Monday night's Game 1 after leaving Saturday's series-clinching win over the Bucks with a hamstring injury, but they're a team that thrives when people count them out. The 76ers have the clear advantage heading into the series with their athleticism and health, but that doesn't mean the Celtics are just going to roll over. Philly will likely win the series, but the Celtics are going to make them earn it every step of the way. They also hold home court, which was a major factor in their series against the Bucks.
Philadelphia is a lot better than Milwaukee though, and most analysts are picking the 76ers to win in six or seven after they bounced Miami in just five games. But now they have to face a hungry Celtics squad and with a mad scientist head coach in Brad Stevens. Here's what we'll be keeping an eye on throughout the series when things tip off on Monday night in Boston.
Tatum & Simmons
The Rookie vs. Rookie battle is going to be one of the top storylines throughout the series, because nothing gets old people (which we classify as age 25-105) talking like 20-year-olds playing basketball.
Tatum had a great first season in the NBA for Boston, not only living up to the hype of being selected third overall but going above and beyond when Gordon Hayward went down five minutes into the season. He was thrust into a much larger role than anyone anticipated, and only looked like a fresh-faced rookie on a few occasions. He struggled at times against the Bucks, but put together a solid first playoff series for a 20-year-old, averaging 15.4 points off 40 percent shooting.
Now he has to elevate his game even more against a tough 76ers team, and he'll have to do it with the rookie of the year favorite playing across from him. Debate all you want whether Simmons should be considered a rookie after missing all of last season, but Simmons is an absolute beast. Don't let your feelings about a silly rule take away what he did in his first season -- Simmons deserves the award after putting up some absurd numbers during the regular season and leading Philly to the three-seed in the East.
His play has gotten even better in the playoffs too, with Simmons averaging 18.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and nine assists per game in Philadelphia's five games against the Heat. He's in for a much bigger challenge against the Celtics, who can throw a number of players at him in hopes of slowing him down. But if Simmons is on his game, it's something even Celtics fans can marvel at, however painful it may be to watch.
Horford vs. Embiid?
If Boston has any shot at winning the series, old man Al Horford needs to win his matchup against "The Process" Joel Embiid. The Philly big can be a force on offense, but he isn't exactly efficient in this early part of his career. That was very much the case in his three games against Horford and the Celtics during the regular season; Embiid averaged 17 points against the C's but needed 17 shots to do so. Horford on Embiid will also allow Stevens to go small, which will allow let him unleash Boston's secret weapon against Simmons until Brown gets back (more on that in a minute).
Keeping Embiid off the charity stripe is also important for Boston. He put up some big numbers against the Heat after returning from a facial fracture, averaging 18.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and three blocks in his three games, but a lot of his points came from the free throw line (23-for-33). Embiid only went to the line 13 times in his three regular season matchups against Horford and the Celtics.
But an even bigger factor for Horford is making Embiid work on the defensive end. If the Celtics struggled around the basket against Thon Maker, it's terrifying to think what little they'll be able to accomplish with Embiid clogging the paint. It'll be important for Horford to keep him away from the rim so the Celtics don't end up jacking up endless amounts of horrible threes. They're still going to take their share of horrible threes, but they have a much better chance at driving (and succeeding) if Embiid is 10 feet away from the basket.
Ojeleye The X-Factor
Many point to Brad Stevens unleashing Semi Ojeleye on Giannis Antetokounmpo as the turning point against the Bucks. It's a concept that will make your mind spin considering Ojeleye played some of the worst basketball during the regular season, but the rookie played some phenomenal defense against Antetokounmpo when he was inserted into the starting lineup in Game 5, holding the best player in the series to 16 points on 10 shots. In Game 7, Antetokounmpo had just 22 points on 17 shoots.
Now Ojeleye will probably find himself going muscle-to-muscle with Simmons (with help from Boston's duo of Marcuses), especially with Brown likely out for Game 1. Simmons can do everything but shoot the basketball, so it will be important for Ojeleye to keep him from driving to the hole and making those ridiculously beautiful layups he made throughout the regular season and against the Heat. Doing that will make Philly's shooters beat the Celtics. Unfortunately, they have a lot of other guys who can knock down shots from all over the floor.
If Ojeleye isn't up to the challenge, it would force Stevens to put Horford on Simmons and go with Aron Baynes on Embiid.
Battle At The 3-Point Line
If there's one thing the Celtics don't have to fret about with Simmons, it's him hurting them from long distance. After taking 11 shots from deep during the regular season, Simmons has attempted just one three in the playoffs. Of those 12 professional threes, none of them have fallen through the hoop. That doesn't mean they should just let him hang out at the perimeter, because when he's given that space he tends to get a full head of steam and trucks his way to the basket, but they can focus elsewhere from beyond the arc.
And focus they must. J.J. Redick and Marco Belinelli let them fly from deep, and Dario Saric and Robert Covington aren't afraid to use their length from downtown. If Philly catches fire then the Celtics are probably in deep trouble.
But they attempted 32 threes per game against Miami and only hit 11 of them. Redick led all Philly scorers with 20 points per game, but hit only hitting 35 percent from three. That was against the Heat; he's now going against a Celtics team that was among the best in the NBA at defending the perimeter.
The Celtics, on the other hand, can't settle for long jumpers. If Horford can do his job and get Embiid out of the paint,they need to take advantage.
