Final: Celtics 109, Sixer 108 - Celtics survive after late collapse

BOSTON CELTICS at PHILADELPHIA 76ERS

Regular season game 6, Emirates Cup pool game

Wells Fargo Center, 7:00 p.m. - Amazon Prime 

INJURIES

Boston: Jayson Tatum (OUT-Achilles)

Philadelphia: Paul George (OUT-knee), Jared McCagin (OUT-thumb), Dominick Barlow (elbow)

OFFICIALS

Courtney Kirkland (#61)    Kevin Cutler (#34)    JT Orr (#72)

THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. A better job on VJ Edgecombe: I had Edgecombe described to me as a pitcher going through the lineup for the first time. He can get figured out the second time around. Well, the second time came quickly for Boston, so I want to see this put to the test. 

He’s been good through four games for Philly but he has two good shooting nights and two bad ones. The bad news is those seem to alternate and his last one was bad. This could be a job for Josh Minott while Derrick White and the rest of the Celtics try to rein in Tyrese Maxey. 

2. Joel Embiid’s revenge: Like my favorite drink growing up in Rhode Island, Embiid was awful awful in his first game against the Celtic. He followed that up with two much better games, scoring 20 points in 20 minutes against Charlotte and 25 in 23 minutes against Washington.

He’s hit six of his last 12 3-pointers, which is helping his cause. He’s still not dominant like the old Embiid was, but he’s putting up numbers. If the Celtics can limit him again, they can get a win here. 

3. Incremental progress: All I want to see is a step forward each night. It doesn’t even have to be a big one, just something that shows they're working on things and they're getting it.

I think we’ve seen that already in the last two games, but now let’s see how they handle two guards who roasted them once already this season. 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.