Game 6
Celtics @ Sixers
8:00 PM EDT
ESPN
Wells Fargo Center

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 97.8 points per 100 possessions (10th)
Philadelphia: 97.0 points per 100 possessions (11th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 93.2 points allowed per 100 possessions (1st)
Philadelphia: 96.2 points allowed per 100 possessions (5th)

Probable Sixers Starters: Jrue Holiday (PG), Evan Turner (SG), Andre Iguodala (SF), Elton Brand (PF), Spencer Hawes (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Philadunkia

THUMBNAIL

The longer this series goes, the longer a few things become apparent:

1) Evan Turner is shooting terribly.  31% from the field (18-58) to be exact.  If he were to catch fire, the Celtics could be facing a Game 7 before they even get settled in their Philadelphia hotel room.

2) The Celtics injury situation is starting to become troublesome, sort of.  Ideally, the Celtics want everyone fully healthy and Avery Bradley and Ray Allen are big parts of what makes the C’s successful.  That said, the Celtics can and probably will get past the Sixers without those two being 100%.  It’s beyond this series that brings on the troublesome feelings.

3) Kevin Garnet is slowing down.  After starting the playoffs blazing a trail of destruction, Garnett has begun to cool off from the field and has not taken advantage of Philadelphia’s smallish (Elton Brand, Lavoy Allen) and poor defending (Spencer Hawes) front line nearly as much as he should be.  As long as the Celtics keep winning and Garnett keeps bringing his energy, no one will really notice.

But those thoughts are for another day because the Celtics take on the Sixers in a potential series clinching game.  I’d wish for a fast start by the C’s but playing with an early lead does not necessarily guarantee success. The Celtics need to keep their foot on the gas pedal and end this series tonight.

PREDICTION

Celtics 95 – Sixers 85

From Mark Murphy, Boston Herald:

As Rivers said earlier this week, Bradley has also injured his right shoulder, perhaps as a result of attempting to compensate for his left, which has popped out of joint at least three times in the last three weeks.

“I’m just frustrated,” said Bradley. “All I can do is try to get stronger and improve for my teammates. I wouldn’t say it’s getting worse. It’s been the same. I just have to try to get stronger. I’m just taking it day by day.”

Rivers certainly didn’t sound encouraged.

“(Bradley is) a little better, but not much,” said the Celtics coach. “I don’t think he’ll play tonight but we’ll find out. He won’t do anything in shootaround before. But we’ll let him warm up, see if he can warm up, and then we’ll go from there.”

There are not a whole lot of things more frustrating for a successful young player than to be temporarily derailed by a nagging injury. Bradley was just starting to get used to the bright lights of the playoffs and was really starting to play with confidence. The Celtics can beat the Sixers without Bradley so it’s best he rest while the can afford it.

The good news, as Murphy adds later in his report, is that the Celtics won’t have to go into Game 6 without Ray Allen and Greg Stiemsma. Both Celtic contributors are as good as they’ll ever be this post season with their respective lower leg injuries.

Luckily for the C’s, the news isn’t all bad, as our good buddy Chris Forsberg over at ESPN Boston reports that Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team:

Rondo earned 29 points off nine first-team and 11 second-team votes; Garnett finished with 26 points on 8 first-team votes and 10 second-team votes.

The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select NBA All-Defensive first and second teams by position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players from their own team. Two points were awarded for a first-team vote and one point was awarded for a second-team vote.

It seems really odd that Kevin Garnett garnered fewer first team votes than Rondo considering Rondo is more known for being an underachieving reacher and Garnett an absolute, game-changing defensive juggernaut.  Also strange, is Avery Bradley’s absence from the list.  If he can remain healthy, he should be a mainstay on this list for years to come.

That’s it for now.  I’ll be back in a few hours with tonight’s open thread.

Game 5
Sixers @ Celtics
7:00 PM EST
TNT
TD Garden

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 95.4 points per 100 possessions (11th)
Philadelphia: 96.6 points per 100 possessions (10th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 90.6 points allowed per 100 possessions (1st)
Philadelphia: 92.8 points allowed per 100 possessions (4th)

Probable Sixers Starters: Jrue Holiday (PG), Evan Turner (SG), Andre Iguodala (SF), Elton Brand (PF), Spencer Hawes (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Philadunkia

Thumbnail: Avery Bradley is out of the lineup with two sore shoulders, meaning Ray Allen gets his first start of the postseason. Don’t take Bradley’s absence as as a sign Doc will reach further into the bench though, as Doc indicated those extra minutes would be split between Keyon Dooling and Mickael Pietrus. 

For Game 5, I joined Chris Forsberg over at ESPNBoston to break down what to expect tonight. Here’s a sampling of what we covered in our game of 2-on-2. You can check out the full post at ESPNBoston

2. What else will you be focused on in Game 5?

Robb: The lineup choices. Rivers and his staff had their first major hiccup of the postseason by riding their small lineup into the group against a larger Philadelphia front line featuring Lavoy Allen and Thaddeus Young in the fourth quarter of Game 4. The fact Rivers admitted as much in practice on Sunday has to be encouraging, but now that the Sixers have seemingly found the best counter to Boston’s smaller lineup in the Allen/Young duo, the question now is what adjustment will Rivers make with his troops. Does Brandon Bass start to see the floor in the fourth quarter now? And if so, who sits in crunch time for Boston, Avery Bradley or Ray Allen? There will be lots of decisions to be made with no easy answers, as the stakes increase for Game 5.

Forsberg: It really is an intriguing little chess match developing between Doug Collins and Rivers in regards to small lineups. For the first three games of the series, the Celtics went small to counter when the 76ers did the same, often operating with four guards (some combination of Rajon Rondo, Bradley, Paul Pierce, Allen, and Mickael Pietrus) along with one big (Kevin Garnett or Ryan Hollins). With the 76ers utilizing Young at the 4, the Celtics would pull Bass off the floor and hope that a smaller guard could neutralize Young’s versatility. Over the first three games, that strategy worked. But it crumbled in Game 4, the 76ers making their runs against Boston’s small unit and exploits the lack of size in the paint (particularly with the combination of Young and Allen). Will the Celtics flirt with staying big when the 76ers go small on Monday? Was Game 4 the outlier? Rivers admits it’s going to be a decision made on the fly and it will likely determine how Game 5 — and maybe this entire series — plays out.

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Game 3
Celtics @ Sixers
7:00 PM EDT
TNT
Wells Fargo Center

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 94.0 points per 100 possessions (11th)
Philadelphia: 95.6 points per 100 possessions (10th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 90.4 points allowed per 100 possessions (1st)
Philadelphia: 91.7 points allowed per 100 possessions (3rd)

Probable Sixers Starters: Jrue Holiday (PG), Evan Turner (SG), Andre Iguodala (SF), Elton Brand (PF), Spencer Hawes (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Philadunkia

THUMBNAIL

All eyes on number 5.

And as well they should be.  Kevin Garnett is been pretty much the single reason the Celtics have won playoff games.  He’s dominating all facets of the game right now.  Scoring, rebounding, defending the post, pick and roll- you name it.  It seems oddly fitting that the man responsible for the Celtics success in the post season is the same man who everyone will remember for losing Game 2.

Wait, I should clarify: …is the man everyone will *misremember* for losing Game 2.

There are plenty of reasons why the Celtics lost Game 2 and chief among them was not Kevin Garnett’s moving screen.  The Celtics turned the ball over 17 times and were outrebounded 47-36.  It’s hard to win when either scenario occurs.  The problem with the C’s is that they’ve been able to see a level of success despite their shortcomings.  Shortcomings that have been year-long struggles and are unlikely to get solved within a playoff series.

The Celtics will have to continue to win despite their failings, something that can only happen if the desire is there.  Game 2 started out with very little playoff intensity and the closer the score remained the bigger the complacency got.  Players are obviously injured so when I say complacency, I’m not strictly monitoring how fast someone is running.  I looking for players to make the correct plays.  Players not turning the ball over.  Players not settling for bucket trading. Players being ready to extend the game at all costs if behind.

After Game 2, I asked Doc Rivers if the C’s were prepared to foul after Ray Allen made the three with 3 seconds left.  His answer was logical but not inspiring:

No, they had probably given up. But I don’t think that’s a big deal, to be honest. It’s three seconds left. With no time-outs. It was a Hail Mary, basically, by Ray and he made it. So I hope you’re not going to make that an issue tonight. There’s other issues we can make.

Sure. The Celtics were longshots at the point. No one, not even them, expected Allen to make that three. But the question becomes, why take it at all? Why not just dribble out the clock and move on?

The issue I want to make isn’t about those last three seconds. The issue I want to make is about desire. The Celtics are a better team than Philadelphia and they need to show it starting tonight.

I think they will.

PREDICTION

Celtics 92, Sixers 83

Game 2
Sixers @ Celtics
7:00 PM EST
TNT
TD Garden

Offensive Efficiency:
Boston: 95.4 points per 100 possessions (11th)
Philadelphia: 96.6 points per 100 possessions (10th)

Defensive Efficiency:
Boston: 90.6 points allowed per 100 possessions (1st)
Philadelphia: 92.8 points allowed per 100 possessions (4th)

Probable Sixers Starters: Jrue Holiday (PG), Evan Turner (SG), Andre Iguodala (SF), Elton Brand (PF), Spencer Hawes (C)

View From The Opposing Bench: Philadunkia

Thumbnail: On Saturday night, Boston gave Philadelphia a swift kick in the gut. Tonight we’ll see if what follows is a devastating uppercut knocking them down to the mat, or a gentlemanly step back to their own corner to the opponent recover. The Sixers appear to be a team in strategic disarray. Elton Brand believes getting the ball out of Kevin Garnett’s hands should be the primary defensive focus, while Doug Collins seems to think the best path for his team to travel is down the one they’re currently on, betting that Garnett will tire down as the series goes deeper and deeper.

As I wrote in my recap yesterday morning, the Sixers gave the Celtics their best effort in Game 1 and still lost. Boston expended a ton of effort in the second half to surge back and win the game, and they were rewarded with a relaxing Mother’s Day, void of all basketball-related activity. This team is battling aches and pains to significant players who’re deep in their careers, and with a proverbial banana peel underneath every other step, it’s more important now than ever before that they not only win four games, but lose none until they meet their next, more dangerous opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Prediction: Celtics 83, Sixers 79

Twitter: @ShakyAnkles