Celtics (2-1) at 76ers (1-2) Round 2 Game #4 5/7/23

[jmost]

Down 59-50 at the half, and I feel lucky to be that close. It was good to see Tatum finally hit a shot, but basically the story of the first half to me was that Harden showed up and Tatum didn't. Plenty of time to flip the script though.

[freshnthehouse]

C'mon lets see a big fourth quarter. This game is somehow winnable.

[freshnthehouse]

Horford with 5 blocks!

[eja117]

Mazzula is just not the coach I hoped he was. I get trusting your players but when they keep doing the same dumb things you have to correct them. You're down two and you leave wide open a key player on the three point line. Dumb. Killed them at the end.

Also. Tatum does this aaaaaa LOT. Waiting till vvverrrry deep in the play clock to even START the offensive move. If you're starting to make your move at 5 seconds left you've screwed yourself, especially the way the Celts are always looking for the extra pass. And it killed them. That was game.

Also....never taking a timeout to address these things BEFORE they happen.

Mazzula just watches his players play. He doesn't really coach them.

[jmost]

First of all, that was a great basketball game. We fought hard to come back from 16 down and had a great chance to win on the wide open 3 by Smart at the end of regulation. I am not a fan of Smart taking so many 3s, but this was a good one and it just didn't go in.

Horford was terrific guarding Embiid in the fourth, and Tatum, once he woke up from his first half coma was all over the place, scoring, rebounding, blocking shots.

My biggest question after this one was "why doesn't Tatum play all the time like he did in the second half?" It would be different if he just weren't capable, but he is, WHEN HE WANTS TO.

Bottom line: Harden showed up for 4 quarters and Tatum only showed up for 2.

[eja117]

That really is the bottom line. Apparently you can't spot a team with Embiid and Harden and Maxey and Tobias Harris a 16 point lead on their home court. Who knew?

They also put an awful lot into the hands of the refs all over the place. The refs are not your friend.

[Roadrunner]

I thought BOS played well 1Q, and had multiple opportunities to win. Wasn't a bad loss, however a missed opportunity.

[jmost]

I just don't know if our team, collectively, is smart enough to win a title. That includes players and coaches.

Up 2 with 20 seconds left and the shot clock indicating that we'll get the last shot, there are only two things to keep in mind. Don't allow 3s and don't foul. That way the worst situation you can face is a tie game and the opportunity to win it with the last shot.

Joe should have reminded everyone of that, and maybe he did. And JB should never have left Harden, who was in the midst of a 40 point game, alone in the corner. That was a blunder.

[Roadrunner]

One aspect I noticed is that PHI takes high percentage shots, and BOS takes low percentage shots. Also, with BOS they (almost) always win if they shoot 40% or more from 3, and 50-50 if below.