PHILADELPHIA — The Boston Celtics might as well have stayed on the plane on Wednesday night. That's how ugly their Game 6 showing against the Philadelphia 76ers was.
For the second straight game, the Celtics' offense completely crumbled, and the Sixers blew the doors off them, forcing a Game 7.
Here are the ups and downs.
Down: Jaylen Brown
For the second straight game, Jaylen Brown was a mess. Every time the ball touched his hands, he was at risk of losing it. And a lot of the time, he did.
Fumbles, contested mid-range buckets, and missed free throws plagued his night, and his play on the defensive end was even more questionable. He even got beaten for timely offensive rebounds.
Brown got beat on backcuts multiple times, and his on-ball defense -- which has been a strength so far this series -- left much to be desired. Philadelphia consistently blew by him, putting a ton of pressure on Boston's paint defenders.
The Celtics needed their MVP candidate on Thursday night. They didn't get that production. They didn't get anywhere close.
Down: Offense
Boston's offense was the second-best in the NBA this regular season. They moved off the ball, set great screens, and dominated in isolation.
They abandoned all of their offensive principles in Game 6.
Off-ball movement was replaced by stagnation. Ball control replaced by untimely turnovers. Offensive rebounds replaced by passiveness.
The Celtics that took the court in Game 6 were unrecognizable compared to the team that won 56 games this year.
Down: The bigs
At the beginning of the season, Boston's big-man rotation looked rough. At least, on paper.
Once the regular season got going, Neemias Queta quickly emerged as a Most Improved Player candidate. Luka Garza blossomed as a quality role player. Even Nikola Vucevic found some sort of rhythm through the first few games of this series.
They provided nothing in Game 6. The fact that Vucevic has been the most consistent big this series has been a problem in and of itself.
Queta can't get out of his own way. He's missing passes, getting out of position, and fouling all over the place.
Garza can't stay on the court, either. Vucevic just can't stick with Joel Embiid, and the shots haven't fallen for him, either.
Every single rotation center on the Celtics roster was a mess in Game 6.
Down: Lack of creativity (Joe Mazzulla)
It's hard to know whether the players aren't executing or if Joe Mazzulla isn't calling for enough creative adjustments. Without being in the locker room, there's truly no way to know.
But some of the on-court decisions have to be questioned. Boston was barely