Will 76ers, Joel Embiid’s momentum be too much for Celtics? What to expect in Game 7

A playoff series can always change on a dime. It definitely matters to set the tone early in a series, but at the end of the day, momentum is a real factor in the NBA playoffs, and the Philadelphia 76ers have that over the Boston Celtics right now.

How did we get here, on the verge of a critical Game 7 that can dramatically change the futures of both premier Eastern Conference franchises? Well, for starters, Joel Embiid is back on the court for the 76ers, and he’s making a huge impact.

Through the first three games of this series against Boston without Embiid, the Sixers were averaging just 100.7 points per game. Their only win came in Game 2 on the road thanks to VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey combining for 59 points and knocking down 11 threes.

Down 2-1 in the series to the Celtics, Embiid returned to the court for the first time since his appendectomy and posted 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in Game 4 on his home floor. However, Philadelphia still lost due to the Celtics’ 24 made threes, putting them in a 3-1 hole heading back to Boston.

All seemed grim for the 76ers, but Embiid’s arrival in Game 4 shifted the tide in this series.

The Celtics were held in check when it came to scoring in the paint, and if it wasn’t for them outscoring the 76ers by 45 points from three-point range, Game 4 would’ve ended much differently. Nonetheless, the Sixers’ confidence was growing, and Embiid’s crew asserted themselves on both sides of the court in Game 5.

On Thursday night, much of the same happened, as the 76ers took Game 6 easily and stormed back from down 3-1 to force a Game 7. This is the first time Philadelphia has achieved this since 1979, but the job isn’t finished yet.

What happened in the first six games of this series is noteworthy, but none of it matters anymore. Both the 76ers and Celtics face a do-or-die scenario entering Game 7 on Saturday night in Boston, a game that will be influenced by several factors.

So who will ultimately come out on top and move on to an Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup with the red-hot New York Knicks? Several factors will play a role in what should be a highly entertaining Game 7, but none more than the current swag Embiid and the 76ers have found.

Joel Embiid, 76ers playing with swag

The best word to describe the 76ers over their last two wins over the Celtics is punked.

With Boston up 3-1 and heading home for Game 5, everyone thought this series would be over. After all, since Tatum’s return from his Achilles injury, the Celtics have ranked at the top of the league in virtually every metric.

Between shots not falling, frustrations growing, and the 76ers playing with newfound confidence, the Celtics have actually looked rattled and shellshocked at times for the first time since they lost to the Knicks in the playoffs last year. It isn’t easy to put Boston on its heels, but that is exactly what the Sixers have done over the last two games of this series.

The 76ers have punked them to even this series at 3-3.

And it’s not just Embiid doing everything for this team either. His presence is obviously huge, both in reality and metaphorically speaking, but the confidence of those around the 76ers’ star big man is what has shifted the tides of this series.

Maxey is cutting, slashing, and creating confusion within the Celtics’ defense by utilizing his speed and athleticism around Embiid. VJ Edgecombe is finding open space on the perimeter and taking the fight to Boston on the glass, as his 15 offensive rebounds in the series lead all players from both teams.

Even Paul George, whose 25-game suspension during the regular season is actually looking like a blessing in disguise, has silently been an offensive menace against the Celtics. In this series, George is shooting 54.3 percent from 3-point range, and it seems like each of his makes is coming at pivotal times when Boston is on a scoring run or near the end of the shot clock.

All of these factors into the 76ers’ confidence growing to the point where they aren’t scared of the Celtics. The Sixers know how good they are at full strength, and that has been their mindset since the preseason. Unfortunately, they just haven’t been healthy all year to prove this, which is why they ended up in the play-in tournament.

Now that we are seeing all of these pieces come together around Embiid, it’s clear to see why the 76ers have high championship belief in themselves. This team’s starting five is as good as anyone else’s around the NBA right now, and the extra motivation of constantly losing to Boston in the playoffs has added another level to this upcoming Game 7 for Embiid.

“I’ve been playing these guys for so long. I’m tired of losing to them. We have a chance to accomplish something special,” Embiid said after the 76ers’ Game 6 victory on Thursday night. “They’re a great team. When you look at everything they have, that’s a superteam. We just have to go in with the same mindset we’ve had the last two games.

“It’s a tough environment, but we’ve won two games over there, so just keep doing what we’ve been doing, and we’ll be fine.”

Whether it was Embiid doing pushups and igniting the crowd after falling to the ground on Thursday night or just the energy shifting over the last two games, this newfound swag that the 76ers have is noticeable.

So much so that even Jaylen Brown recognizes how much this has impacted the series entering Game 7.

“Their comfort level is higher right now. Their confidence is high right now. They got a different swag to them and we got to take that,” Brown said on Thursday night in Philadelphia. “We’re not they’re not going to give us anything. So, we got to be the team that throws the first punch and that starts with me.”

As much as the Celtics’ responsibilities fall on Brown, as they have all season with him being a true MVP candidate, this task also falls on Tatum’s shoulders as well. But the big question for Boston entering Game 7 is Tatum’s overall health and whether he will be good to go.

Is Jayson Tatum healthy?

Tatum left Game 6 on Thursday night early due to some sort of left leg injury that was later confirmed as calf tightness.

That is not the type of injury any NBA player ever wants to hear, especially someone who is coming off a ruptured right Achilles tendon in the playoffs a year ago. However, Tatum did not seem too concerned about his ailment after the game and provided a lot of optimism for his availability heading into Game 7 on Saturday.

“Y’all probably saw when I went to the back, saw me on the bike, my leg just was a little stiff when I came out in the third quarter,” Tatum said. “It was my other leg. Not the one I injured last year. 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.”

Even Mazzulla didn’t seem too concerned about his star’s availability for the final game of this series, telling reporters after the game that Tatum went back to the locker room/tunnel to be stretched and receive some treatment.

“That was about it,” Mazzulla briefly stated.

Whether it was just cramping or a minor tweak, seeing Tatum leave the court with the Celtics getting tormented in Philadelphia was a concerning sight for everyone in Boston. But the good news is that Mazzulla said on Friday afternoon that Tatum is good to go, and he will have some extra motivation entering Game 7.

There have been seven different instances in Tatum’s career where he’s played in a Game 7. In these games, Tatum holds a 5-2 record, averaging 26.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game while shooting 47.4 percent from the floor and 47.9 percent from 3-point range.

Tatum is the type of player who lives for these big moments, and he’s ready for this one on his home floor, especially since the Celtics have lost twice already in this series at home.

Celtics’ live-and-die philosophy

One of the biggest criticisms the Celtics receive, mainly by me because I sound like a broken record talking about them, is the way they remind me of the Houston Rockets with James Harden in terms of living and dying by the three.

As good as Boston can be driving to the rim and creating space for wide-open looks from the perimeter, they seem to get too complacent at times on their perimeter shooting. 

When the shots are falling, they are unstoppable. If you need any example of this, just go back and watch Game 4, as the Celtics’ 24 made triples won them that game by a wide margin.

But while there is good, there is also a lot of bad with this philosophy.

The 76ers are a good defense team at full strength, and they’ve shown that over the last two games by holding the Celtics under 100 points in each contest. However, a lot of this has to do with the Celtics’ offense being stagnant, lackluster, and almost too reliant on threes to fall, that they are forcing them instead of attacking and being aggressive.

In their three wins against Philadelphia in this series, Boston has shot 41.7 percent from 3-point range, knocking down an average of 20 triples per game. On the flip side of this, the Celtics have shot just 27.7 percent from 3-point range in their three losses, knocking down an average of 12 triples per game.

Regardless of what has happened throughout the course of a series, Game 7 is always different. The Celtics will still stick to what they know with shooting threes, but expect to see Tatum, Brown, and even Derrick White put the ball on the ground more and try to change their offensive tempo by getting to the rim.

This is especially true for White, who is shooting an abysmal 25.6 percent from deep in this series.

As good as the Celtics can be from the perimeter, it can also be their downfall, like it’s been over the last two games of this series.

Why Game 7s are just different

There is always a different vibe entering the arena for Game 7.

Obviously, there is more at stake than Game 1 or Game 2 of a playoff series, but everything about the game is always different. From the sense of urgency to the pace of the game constantly changing to teams switching up assignments and different schemes, all that matters is coming out on top after 48 minutes, no matter how it’s done.

What happened during the first six games between the Celtics and 76ers doesn’t really matter now, as Game 7 is a fresh start for each team and especially each player. Jaylen Brown understands the challenges that come with a Game 7 and what will be different.

“Game 7 is a game amongst itself. The rest of the series doesn’t matter,” Brown said. “It’s gonna be who’s gonna show up on that day and be the better-performing team. We definitely see some stuff that I know I can improve. Definitely would shift my approach going into Game 7. I’m looking forward to coming out with a great fight.

“I expect our crowd to show up great and be ready to go.”

If we do know one thing about Game 7s, it’s that home-court advantage definitely matters.

Home teams have gone 115-40 in Game 7 all-time, and only 13 teams in NBA history have ever recovered and won three straight games after trailing 3-1 in a series. Of these 13 instances, only four resulted in the road team taking Game 7.

History definitely favors the Celtics ahead of this critical game in Boston, but momentum is a real factor in the playoffs. It is what has propelled the 76ers to this point, and it’s why we are about to see a Game 7 when this series seemed destined to be over two games ago.

Then again, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse isn’t buying the whole narrative about momentum and building off the success from one game to another in this series because of how different they have been.

“It’s nice to play a couple of games in a row where we play well,” Nurse admitted after winning Game 6. “But there hasn’t been much carryover in this series. Every game has been its own entity, and we are going to have to keep doing some of the same things that we have been doing to get us in this position.”

Will the 76ers storm all the way back and pull off an improbable upset against the Celtics, becoming the third team to ever win a playoff series after earning their postseason spot via the play-in tournament, or will Boston make it seven straight playoff series wins over their rivals from Philadelphia?

As Brown said, whoever shows up and is the better team that day will win.

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