BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics at 76ers Game 3, 7:00 p.m. - Time to break the tie

BOSTON CELTICS (56-26) at PHILADELPHIA 76ERS (45-37)

Location: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA

Game time: 7:00 p.m.

TV: Prime Video

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Celtics injury report:

• NO INJURIES TO REPORT

76ers injury report:

• Joel Embiid - DOUBTFUL (post appendectomy surgery recovery)

• Tyrese Maxey - AVAILABLE (right finger tendon strain - splint)

What to watch for: After failing to take a 2-0 lead in Game 2, the Boston Celtics will look to avoid a treacherous series outcome. Game 3 will act as the tiebreaker, with both Boston and the Philadelphia 76ers hoping to take a 2-1 lead.

Whoever wins Game 3 will have an inherent advantage moving forward, not to mention all the momentum on their side.

Tale of the tape: Game 1 was a blowout. The Celtics put a stranglehold on the 76ers and never let go. But if Game 1 was a blowout, Game 2 was a blow-up.

Philadelphia completely turned the tide, headlined by its red-hot performance from beyond the 3-point arc.

VJ Edgecombe led the charge, pouring in 30 points to go along with his 10 rebounds. He shot a ridiculous 12-of-20 from the field and 6-of-10 from deep range.

Tyrese Maxey wasn't nearly as efficient as Edgecombe, but he still put up 29 points on 11-of-28 shooting overall, including 5-of-12 from distance.

Boston's drop defense got shredded, as the Sixers rained down pull-up threes in its face. Though when the Celtics tried to step up, Maxey and Edgecombe drove past them in a blur. It was a mess.

Game 3 look-ahead: Drop defense was widely viewed as a primary reason for Boston's defeat in Game 2. However, it was less about the scheme itself and more about the execution.

The Celtics' guards struggled to get around Philadelphia's screens, and even past the drop, Boston's defensive execution in other areas slipped up.

They missed tendencies, failed to box out on the defensive glass, and gave up two big-swing runs in the first half.

As far as the Sixers' 3-point successes, it's not a matter of drop defense vs. switching vs. hedging; it's a matter of the necessary hustle and effort to contest.

If Boston plays drop, it needs to fight harder around screens. If they switch, they need to commit and send the necessary help. If they hedge, the big needs to get back into the paint quickly. That way, they can put as much pressure on the Sixers' shooters as possible.

"I feel like we can do a better job of maybe, like, making their shots tougher, maybe taking their rhythm away. Stuff like that," Payton Pritchard said at Celtics shootaround on Friday afternoon. "You just can't -- people are so talented, so good. If you give them confidence, and get them seeing a couple easy ones go in, then they start hitting everything. So, we all know that from experience [from] we've been hot, so you got to try to take that water away."

One cool play: If the Celtics are going to stick with drop defense, this is the type of fight they need from their perimeter defenders. Look at the way Jayson Tatum fights around the Andre Drummond screen to stick with Edgecombe. Even if Boston abandons its drop, they need this type of hustle.