2023 Playoffs: East Conf. Semifinal | Celtics vs. 76ers

3 things Sixers can do in Game 4 to even series against Celtics

Down 2-1 to the Celtics, Philadelphia is far from out of the East semifinals, but the Sixers need to correct course quickly.

The James Harden from Game 1 has been nowhere to be seen.

PHILADELPHIA – In a film session Saturday revisiting the unpleasantness of the Philadelphia 76ers’ 114-102 loss Friday to the Boston Celtics, Sixers coach Doc Rivers tried to calm the youngest players with some reassurances based on simple math.

Look, he told them, after three games of even the mostly hotly contested playoff series, one team is going to be down two games to one. Rivers used a little of the Socratic method, engaging backup guard Shake Milton to elicit the perspective he was seeking.

His point? Set aside the specific scores, any emotions lingering from the sting of defeat or particular regrets over this mistake or that. Focus on what’s next and playing your game, the coach told them, encouraging belief in the style and habits that won them 54 games and a first-round sweep of Brooklyn so far this season.

Belief in the opportunity that awaits them, too, when they get Game 4 at home Sunday afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). Had the outcomes of Game 1 and Game 3 been flipped – home teams winning both – this series would sit precisely where it is now.

Of course, if certain problems don’t get cleaned up by Rivers and his crew at Wells Fargo Center this time, they won’t like Milton’s answer next time. A 3-1 hole is all but assured unless the Sixers’ performances meet the magnitude of the situation.

Here are three areas that need addressing now:


How can James Harden bring more production for the Sixers?

1. Harden should listen to Embiid

Imagine if Jaylen Brown were Dillon Brooks, asked about the job he was doing defending against James Harden. Old? He’d verbally and audaciously have the Sixers’ point guard dead and buried based on the past two games.

Per NBA.com tracking data, in the 15:53 matchup time Brown has defended him this series, Harden has scored six points on 2-for-11 shooting with four turnovers. In Games 2 and 3 combined, it was 61 possessions, one point, 0-for-7. That’s called poking the Beard.

Brown’s embrace of the task in the wake of Harden’s 45-point blistering of Boston in Game 1 has transformed the series. “Jaylen set the tone for us,” forward Al Horford said. “We are following him, not only on the offensive end but on the defensive end as well. He’s playing at a very high level.”

Brown, while averaging 23.7 points, credited his defensive work to “pressure and intensity.” Obviously others – from Marcus Smart and Derrick White to Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon – have ganged up to bother Harden too.

Said Brogdon: “We don’t want him to play like [he did in the opener] anymore, so we got to be as physical as we can, force him to take tough shots and make him uncomfortable for 94 feet.”

Rivers thought Harden had lanes to the basket Friday, but didn’t pounce. There were times when he seemed shot-shy after a 1-for-7 start, evoking unpleasant memories for Sixers fans of Ben Simmons refusing to shoot.

In dialing back his own scoring to suit center Joel Embiid’s return to action from a right knee sprain, Harden perhaps has overdone it. His 11 assists in Game 3 were fine, but without more of his firepower to back up the big man, he and the Sixers will pass right into the offseason.

Better that Harden heeds Embiid’s advice.

“You just keep telling him to keep shooting and to be aggressive,” the NBA Kia MVP said. “For myself, if I’m not making shots, I know I’ve got to become Bill Russell defensively and have an impact. … I’ve got to get my teammates more involved. That’s for me and that’s for him. Obviously, it’s up to him to figure out how to best help us.”

This might be Harden’s last, best chance to chase a championship ring. He needs to lock in on that.


Joel Embiid accepts the Michael Jordan trophy as 2023 Kia MVP in an emotional pregame ceremony.

2. Embiid needs to get busy  

Through two games, Embiid has taken 28 shots. That’s a 30% decline from his regular season average of 20 field-goal attempts. Between his rust from the two-week layoff with the knee sprain and Boston’s superior defense, his scoring is off by nearly 50% (22.5 ppg to 33.1 in the regular season).

That needs to end quickly lest the next two games slip through the Sixers’ fingers. One way to boost Embiid’s rhythm and involvement would be get him more low-post opportunities where he either can attack or, with deft passing, better make the Celtics pay when they double-team him.

Through three games, Boston has outscored Philadelphia 134-104 in the paint . That difference accounts for most of the 42-point scoring gap through the three games.

Embiid self-consciously tiptoed back in Game 2, hoping not to disrupt what had worked so well for Philadelphia in the opening victory. He was closer to his old self in Game 3 – 30 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, 12 free throws – but not at an MVP level.

“I didn’t get the ball enough,” Embiid said afterward. “Not just to score but to also make plays for my teammates. They had a tendency of doubling quite a bit, so I thought we could’ve used that to our advantage.”

Rivers did say Saturday that Embiid was none the worse for wear after playing more than 39 minutes, with no swelling or new discomfort.


3. Play like they’ve been here before

Actually the Sixers have been here – this is the fifth time in six seasons they have made it to the East semifinals. Their challenge always has been breaking through for another round or two.

Right now, however, they look like and are the more tentative, uncertain team.

Rivers bemoaned the Sixers’ body language Saturday as indicative of their insufficient preparation and, obviously, resiliency. Boston’s knack for matching almost every potential momentum basket or moment in Game 3 wore the home team down.

“I showed our guys [in the film session],” he said. “Like our body language on bad plays. And you hear coaches say this, ‘Each round you grow.’ Boston is past that already. … They’ve gone through these frustrations already where it doesn’t faze them when they make mistakes. We’re not there and that’s where we’re going.

“I showed our guys, I was like ‘Look at the difference when they make a turnover or a bad play, and us.’ We hung our head. We reacted.”

Confidence was a factor for Tyrese Maxey, the quick, young guard who scored 26 points in Game 1 but has needed two games to match that, shooting 10-of-30 in the process. Then there was veteran Tobias Harris, stymied by foul trouble Friday into just 25 minutes in which he got outscored 9-7 by offense-challenged teammate P.J. Tucker.

That’s pretty persuasive that, in terms of the tactical and mental adjustments required through a best-of-seven playoff series, the Sixers are faced with the latter as much as the former.

“I think players have to show up,” Embiid said. “I’ve got to do my job. Other guys, everybody knows their role, they’ve got to do their job. You can make any adjustments you want, but if the players don’t execute and they don’t show and make shots, that’s on us.

“We just haven’t been good enough the last [two] games. No sense of urgency.”

That sounds almost shameful, so we’ll leave it at this: After four games, this will be either 2-2 or 3-1. It’s on the Sixers to choose.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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