Game 4 Final: Sixers 116, Celtics 115 - Smart's buzzer beater a half second too late

Celtics vs. Sixers

Game 4, 3:30 p.m. 

Wells Fargo Center, ESPN

Line: Boston -2.5

Refs: John Goble (#10), James Williams (#60), Gediminas Petraitis (#50)

Injuries: 

Boston- Gallinari (out), Marcus Smart (ankle, questionable), Blake Griffin (back, questionable). Philadelphia- Joel Embiid (knee, questionable)

Projected Starters

Boston: Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford

Philadelphia: James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris, PJ Tucker, Joel Embiid

What I’m looking for

- Philly’s fight: The Atlanta Hawks surprised me with how much fight they had at the end of their series. I’m not sure if the Sixers are going to have that same level of fight to them, mostly because of Harden. The way he played in Game 3 inspired a lot of Ben Simmons jokes and had a lot of people talking about how he has one foot out the door to Houston. If he comes out the same way and is passive, the Sixers are in a lot of trouble. 

- The opening punch: That puts the Celtics in a position to maybe put this game away early. If they come out with a big opening punch, it will put a lot of pressure on the Sixers and Harden, who walked off the court to boos after the Game 3 loss. The Celtics did come out to a big lead in the last game, and the Sixers answered. Will they have the same answer if Boston does it again today? 

- How the stars play: Still on the Harden things for a second … Let’s try to do the math: Saturday night off + Sunday 3:30 p.m. start = ____ for Harden? 

Let’s just say I’m not sold on him being fully there in spirit. 

Embiid is an interesting case as well. He played 40 minutes in Game 3 after just one game to get himself back into shape from a long layoff. The shorter turnaround will be tough on him as well. It’s not just being at the arena four hours earlier than normal, it’s that he’s getting ready for an NBA game pretty soon after waking up. Injuries are always at their stiffest in the morning because the body has been idle for hours. Sure, the knee will probably be fine, but it takes a mental toll walking into the arena with a stiff knee rather than being able to get it loose all day before heading to work. 

This is a chance for Tatum and Brown to shine as the biggest stars on the floor. They teamed up for 50 in the last game. Can they go for 60? This would require Tatum to stay focused in the face of perceived slights from the officials. The Marcus Smart mic’d up clip telling Tatum “stay with me” after he was complaining about a call is not the most encouraging thing in the world. 

Tatum needs to recalibrate his relationship with the officials, and the sooner the better. The sooner he stops letting them get into his head, the sooner he can be a more consistent player. 

Brown has been focused in Games 2 and 3, so he needs to keep that same energy up for the rest of the playoffs. He seemed a bit disengaged in Game 1 and that just can’t happen anymore. There are 10 more wins to get, so the eyes need to be on the prize. 

Mid-range shooting: One of the under-discussed elements of Game 3 was how Boston regained control of the game with its mid-range shooting. The Celtics have spent a lot of time challenging Embiid at the rim. That hasn’t necessarily gone well, especially early on, so stopping and popping from 10-15 is an effective strategy. 

It has an interesting side effect of still forcing Embiid to try to challenge and expending energy so he can be more effectively challenged later in the game. Remember how Tatum was getting blocked early in the game and then getting to the rim in the fourth quarter? He and Brown both got past Embiid late in the game and it was partly because he was worn down. Take advantage of getting past perimeter defenders by getting deep into the paint, then make Embiid react and jump out while taking a very makeable shot. 

All out effort: I’ve been saying since the Game 1 loss that I can see the Celtics winning three games in a row, botching Game 5, and finishing this off in six games. This would be the toughest of the three wins because the Celtics have basically been in control of the series for two full games. The last thing this group needs is to feel like they're in control heading into a game. 

So let’s see how they respond this time. There's always the opportunity to learn from 

How I think it will go:

I’m actually struggling for a good read on this game. My distrust of the Celtics is flaring like a case of gout, and I’m not 100% sold that they're coming out of the gates strong. 

The Sixers, meanwhile, are going to be desperate. They can’t have the Game 1 that they did and then lose three in a row, two on their home floor.

They already ruined Embiid’s MVP ceremony by coming out flat. They were booed off their home floor. I spent some time last night talking to Sixers fans and they are frustrated as all hell that Boston is doing it to them again. 

So I’m going to anticipate the Sixers coming out with some energy in a very loud arena. This might be a big Tyrese Maxey game, at least early on. 

“He's got to get the ball more,” Doc Rivers said of Maxey after the Game 3 loss. “There were 2 or 3 times when he had the ball and gave it up. 1 time when Jalen (McDaniels) had it at the top and he just stood in the corner and I asked him do you think Kobe Bryant would stand there? No he's going to get the ball and you're one of our scorers you have to act like that all the time. In his defense it's hard. It really is. We have to get him the ball more and get him more involved.”

Maybe Maxey goes off for 15 first quarter points. Maybe he tries too hard and misses 10 shots in the first quarter. Maybe Harden looks at Maxey trying to shoot more and gets mad at him. However it goes, I think Boston should prepare for maximum Maxey early. 

From there, it’s about the response. My best guess is a flat start from the starters and a double-digit deficit, followed by Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams turning things around off the bench. Then I can see a battle in the third with Boston leaving an exhausted Embiid and still disinterested Harden in the dust for the late win. 

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.