On paper, the Celtics got a break to open their second-round matchup against the 76ers. Joel Embiid is doubtful for Monday night’s Game 1, and the MVP frontrunner’s status for the rest of the series is in question.
But if there’s anything the Celtics should have learned from their first-round victory over the Hawks – which went at least one game longer than it should have – it’s that they can’t take any opponent for granted.
The C’s seem to be taking this opponent seriously even without its star, who suffered a knee injury in the first round against Brooklyn.
“We respect them with or without Joel,” Malcolm Brogdon said. “They’re a really good team, so we’re gonna come out and play good basketball. …
“They’re a really good team without him as well on both sides of the ball. Without him, defensively, I think everybody guards a little bit better. They don’t have a 7-1 guy at the rim. Offensively I think the ball moves more and everybody is more aggressive and more confident.”
The 76ers went 12-5 this season without Embiid. In Philadelphia’s first-round win over the Nets, they finished their sweep without him. They held the Nets to 88 points in the clinching win in the absence of one of their best defenders.
The 76ers have threats outside of Embiid. Tyrese Maxey emerged as one of their best players in the first round. Tobias Harris, though he can be frustratingly inconsistent, can put up big numbers. And of course, there’s James Harden. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said the Sixers play faster without Embiid, and they need to be prepared for certain players to be more aggressive.
“I think they’re more empowered whether it’s Harden, whether it’s Maxey, whether it’s Harris,” Mazzulla said. “They’re looking to affect the game in different ways, and they play a little bit of a different pace. So definitely paying attention to some of those games, some of their play-call frequency and kind of what their identity is as a team without him.”
Brogdon said the 76ers are a completely different team without Embiid.
“It does change our game plan,” Brogdon said. “That’s a team that’s built around Joel, everything he does. All the isos and just a high level of scoring, and now that scoring is gonna be a little bit dispersed. Harden is gonna be more aggressive, Maxey is gonna be more aggressive, and then all the role guys are gonna be more aggressive. They’ve got a lot of good players so we can’t just focus in on one guy.”
Mazzulla is hoping the Celtics can carry over an important lesson that they experienced the hard way in the first round, when the Hawks pushed them. Dejounte Murray missed Game 5, but that didn’t end up mattering in their stunning Game 5 collapse. On the outside, the expectation is that the Celtics – who went 3-1 against the Sixers this season with Embiid – should roll to the Eastern Conference Finals with Embiid’s availability in doubt. But the Celtics should know they can’t operate that way.
“I think that’s important … is to not have an expectation of how something’s going to go,” Mazzulla said. “To understand that it’s the playoffs and those teams are battling. You just have to be able to take what the opportunity gives you and I thought our guys did a good job just kind of handling the ebbs and flows of the series. So, each game, each series is going to present a different mindset, different opportunity, different perspective and you just have to be ready for it.”
The Celtics-76ers rivalry dates to the early days of the NBA, from battles between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the matchups between Larry Bird and Julius Erving.
The rivalry has been lopsided of late. The 76ers have not beaten the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982, when Erving led them to a seven-game victory in the Eastern Conference Finals. The C’s have won five matchups since.
Still, there’s plenty of pride for being part of a historic rivalry. Jaylen Brown said he watched the recent Netflix series about Bill Russell, which helped him learn more about the history between the franchises.
“Bill and Wilt used to go at it, and how many people used to show up to those games and kinda how it was born,” Brown said. “Just learning about that history kind of gave me more foresight into today’s time. I think it was a lot different back then than it is now, but I definitely enjoy the 76ers matchup. It’s a fun environment, it’s a great basketball environment, a lot of intensity, especially on the road, in Philly. So it should be fun.”
Brown acknowledged the importance of rivalries like this one between the Celtics and Sixers.
“I think it’s great for the game,” Brown said. “I think it just gets people talking, gets people excited. People mark it on their calendar. People are waiting for that day. And it’s just great for the game. The build-up, the anticipation, the stories, the history, and all of those things play a part. So, being a part of it now in 2023, the ongoing legacy of the Sixers and the Celtics, it’s an honor. So it should be fun.”