A mix of leftover thoughts and observations after the Celtics took a 2-0 series lead over the Sixers at the TD Garden on Thursday night.
1. Marcus Smart kept the Celtics in the game during the first half: The point guard had been a nightmare on the offensive end during the postseason prior to Game 2, shooting under 30 percent from the field in all four of his games and a woeful 2-of-16 from 3-point range. The lackluster start was understandable given the fact he was wearing a splint on his surgically repaired right thumb, but as his minutes and responsibilities increased this series, the C’s couldn’t afford many more zeroes from the 24-year-old guard.
Luckily for Boston, on a night that no one had any kind of rhythm for the first 21 minutes of the game, Smart’s hot hand managed to keep the C’s afloat. He had a team-high 13 points before intermission on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. Prior to the team’s 18-3 run at the end of the half, Smart’s teammates were 1-of-8 around him from downtown. They were passing up open shots and missing the ones they did take, as they looked overwhelmed by a more physical Sixers offense early on.Without Smart, the Celtics are likely climbing a 30-point mountain in the first half as opposed to a 22-point one and that could have proven to be the difference in the game.
"I think their key teammate this game was Marcus Smart," said Sixers forward Dario Saric. He was tough on both ends. He was scoring the 3s, he was their main guy today. The key player. He had an unbelievable game."
The C’s are probably only going to get one shooting night like this from Smart in the series, given his season averages. It’s important that they didn’t let it go to waste.
2. The Brett Brown learning curve: The Sixers head coach is a great story. He had to suffer through years of replacement talent in Philly to get to this point where his team was the heavy favorite to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Still, just like he has a team full of players making their playoff debuts, his lack of playoff experience was showcased in full on Thursday night. Failing to take a timeout during the C’s game-changing run in the first half is one thing, but his willingness to go back to Ben Simmons, who had been a net negative for most of the first two games, deserves a closer look.
Brad Stevens had issues with this at the time during his first couple postseason series, as he stuck with starting lineups for a bit too long in matchups when they weren’t working. Those days are long behind him now, as he’ll ride the hot hand on any given night and isn’t afraid to bench key contributors for long stretches (i.e. Jayson Tatum in the first half of Game 2) when they are struggling.
Simmons is the future of the Sixers and a hell of a player, but he’s still a rookie with serious limitations on the offensive end. While T.J. McConnell was clearly the better option in Game 2 running point, Brown had other options he could have turned to late to help open up the floor for the Sixers in the halfcourt (Marco Belinelli). Perhaps, the C’s picking on the shooting guard has already paid serious dividends on that front (only six minutes for Belinelli) but Brown’s postgame explanation does not carry water.
“It's a tough decision, I admit it,” he said. “This whole playoff experience is something that I want our young players and star players to learn from and grow, and the decision — do you go with T.J. still or do you come back to Ben Simmons — I'm coming back to Ben Simmons. He's had a hell of a year, I think he's the Rookie of the Year, I think he's going to have to learn to play in these environments, and I'm going back with Ben Simmons.”
That kind of attitude should not fly for a team with realistic aspirations at making the NBA Finals. You can’t afford to throw away games in a seven-game series just because you want to give young guys experience. Simmons is good, but he’s not Michael Jordan or LeBron James. He’s been one of the worst offensive players on the Sixers for the first two games of this series. Brown’s ability to adjust to that reality bodes well for Boston going forward.
3. The Celtics punished the Sixers' aggression on the offensive glass: The Sixers play a lot of long bigs and that group got after it on the offensive end throughout Game 2, piling up 18 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds. The length and strength of guys like Joel Embiid, Saric, Robert Covington and Ersan Ilyasova give the C’s fits at times, especially when Boston is not playing two traditional bigs.
Still, the key for any team that can’t match that rebounding ability straight up is to punish an opponent who goes after rebounds too much on the offensive end. With two and sometimes three Sixers hitting the paint hard, the window was there throughout the second half for the C’s to grab a rebound and push the ball up the floor with a numbers advantage. The Sixers lack the athleticism to get back in these spots and Boston has the rebounding guards (Rozier, Smart) to come away with loose balls in traffic.
The end result was easy finishes on the break on some of the biggest plays of the game.
Notice here how there are three Sixers in the paint going after the board on Redick’s 3.
Rozier races down the court and finds Tatum on the lob! pic.twitter.com/6QDF7hs4HU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 4, 2018
Euro Terry gets it done! pic.twitter.com/8Iiq3Io0l3
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 4, 2018
Brown elevates for the two-handed throwdown in transition! pic.twitter.com/gxZjRx9RsU
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 4, 2018
