Celtics’ Jaylen Brown admits troubling pattern amid growing 76ers threat

Are the Boston Celtics in trouble? It sure seems like it now. The Celtics once held a comfortable 3-1 lead in the series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly for the second-seeded team, as they navigated the Jayson Tatum injury and are now one step away from reaching Round 2 of the playoffs.

And yet, here we are. The 76ers have forced a do-or-die Game 7 after a 106-93 win in Game 6 against the Celtics. Boston is now in danger of being the 14th team to blow a 3-1 lead in the playoffs. The mood of the fans went from growing confidence to suddenly becoming scared of being eliminated in the first round.

Jaylen Brown shared some insight on what might be going wrong for the Celtics in the postseason. The All-Star forward said that they might be playing into the 76ers’ game plan too much, allowing them to dictate the pace of the action.

“I think we’re playing into their hands a little bit,” Brown said, per Bobby Manning. “I definitely think even myself, the type of shots and the type of things they want us to do, that’s kind of what we’ve been doing all year, but maybe a shift in your approach can open some stuff up.”

The Celtics held a 3-1 lead coming into Boston for Game 5 of the series. However, Joel Embiid’s return to the lineup seems to have given the 76ers a second wind and has posed a new problem for Boston to solve. Philly won Game 5 on the road comfortably 113-97, with Embiid turning back the clock for a vintage performance. That gave the Celtics a chance to break the 76ers’ heart in front of the latter’s fans.

Instead, the 76ers turned around and gave their best shot against a struggling Celtics team. Embiid was quieter in Game 6, paving the way for Tyrese Maxey (30 points) and Paul George to take center stage. Boston got just 18 points from Brown and 17 points from Tatum, who left in the third quarter with a calf injury. 

Game 7 will be played on Saturday night at TD Garden.

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