Guided by Joel Embiid’s 33, the 76ers go into Boston and come away with a gutsy Game 5 win to force the series back to Philly.
Before Game 5 of the Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round series against the Boston Celtics, it was fair to wonder if the Sixers were better off if Joel Embiid didn’t play. Embiid returned to the Sixers’ lineup in Game 4 and, while he finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, he wasn’t very efficient. Plus, the Celtics took advantage of him on the other end of the floor.
But Embiid played in Game 5 and played much better, leading the Sixers to a comeback win with 33 points and eight assists. He bullied the Celtics in the post and wasn’t much of a liability on defense.
As important as Embiid’s return has been, this remains a make-or-miss series from 3-point range, especially for the Celtics. They’ve shot 47.7% from beyond the arc over their three wins and just 27% over their two losses.
Game 5 came with the Celtics’ lowest 3-point rate of the series. After taking an amazing 58% of their shots from beyond the arc in Games 2-4, they took just 39 (44%) of their 89 shots from deep on Tuesday. And as they lost the fourth quarter by 17 points, they struggled more from 2-point range (1-for-14) than they did from 3-point range (2-for-8).
Here are three things to watch in Game 6 on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, Peacock) …
1. Screen navigation
Credit the Sixers for some of the Celtics’ struggles. Paul George has been terrific defensively in this series, not only in one-on-one situations against the Celtics’ two All-Star forwards, but also navigating screens to keep them from getting off comfortable shots.
With both teams playing mostly “drop” coverage (where the screener’s defender drops back to protect the rim), screen navigation is extra important on both ends of the floor in this series. George has been one of the league’s best defenders at screen navigation throughout his career.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Sixers got a key stop when George stayed with Jaylen Brown around a Neemias Queta screen, cut off his drive to the basket, and forced him into a tough shot …
Quentin Grimes also had a terrific trail contest on a Derrick White jumper early in the fourth quarter on Tuesday.
The Celtics weren’t as good at navigating screens in Game 5, and the Sixers were able to step into some critical jumpers as they outscored the Celtics, 40-16, over the final 14 1/2 minutes.
Sam Hauser also put Grimes on the line for three free throws midway through the fourth quarter when he came around a screen a little too hot.
If both teams continue to play mostly drop coverage, screen navigation will continue to be a big factor.
2. An engaged Embiid
Embiid is one of those bigs who has mostly played drop coverage, sometimes effective and sometimes not.
On the Celtics’ second possession of the game, White drove at Embiid, and the Sixers’ big man didn’t threaten White’s floater one bit, instead keeping his hands at his sides …
But later on, Embiid was more engaged defensively, making it tougher for the Celtics to find shots when they drove at him …
(Also, another good example of the Sixers navigating screens and staying attached to the ball-handler.)
In the fourth quarter, Jayson Tatum stopped attacking Embiid, giving up the ball before he had gained any kind of advantage on one key possession.
Embiid’s bigger impact has been on offense this season, but he can obviously be a huge factor defensively … as long as he’s engaged.
3. Vučević and the offense-defense question
With the Sixers in drop coverage, Nikola Vučević should be the better offensive option for the Celtics at center. It’s much easier for the screen-setter to find space on the perimeter than rolling to the rim, and Neemias Queta has made five shots from outside the paint all season.
Vučević is only 7-for-22 (32%) from 3-point range in this series, but he should continue to get some wide-open looks when he’s on the floor. If he knocks a few more down, he could open the lane up more for the Celtics’ stars.
The issue is that he was absolutely destroyed by Embiid in the low post in Game 5. Embiid backed him down multiple times, and Vučević provided very little resistance …
According to tracking data, Embiid had 17 post-ups or isolations in Game 5, up from just eight in Game 4. And the Sixers scored 1.44 points per possession when one of those post-ups or isolations led directly to a shot, turnover or trip to the line.
With his defensive issues on Tuesday, Vučević didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter. But the Celtics’ defense wasn’t much better without him, and they scored just 10 points on 17 possessions of the fourth before subbing out their starters with 2:16 left.
Boston may continue to have an offense-defense dilemma on Thursday, especially if Embiid continues to play big.
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John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Bluesky.
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