The Boston Choke-Job: A Tale of Two Cities (and One Appendix)
The Boston Choke-Job: A Tale of Two Cities (and One Appendix)
If you enjoyed the Knicks turning the Hawks into a fine powder earlier tonight, you might have found the Celtics vs. 76ers Game 6 a bit more... "theatrical." By which I mean, the Celtics played like they were performing a tragedy while the 76ers played as if they’d just discovered the fountain of youth in a Philadelphia basement.
The Sixers forced a Game 7 with a 106-93 win, proving that losing two games by 30+ points earlier in the series was apparently just a clever psychological ploy to make the Celtics overconfident.
The PG-13 Redemption Tour
Let’s talk about Paul George. The man has had a year that sounds like a country song: injuries, personal issues, and a 25-game suspension for flunking a drug test. But on Thursday, he looked every bit like the $212 million man the Sixers bought. He dropped 23 points, including five triples that acted like daggers to the heart of the Boston faithful.
And then there’s Joel Embiid. The man returned from an appendectomy just 17 days after surgery. Most people are still struggling to walk to the fridge after that; Embiid is out here dropping 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. He’s essentially playing with one less organ and still making the Celtics’ defense look like they’re guarding a ghost.
The Celtics’ Offensive Black Hole
Boston fans, look away. This was less of a "basketball game" and more of a "how many times can we hit the front of the rim" exhibition.
Jayson Tatum (17 pts) looked sharp early, then spent the second half receiving "treatment" for a calf injury that wasn't his surgically repaired one. At one point, he was shut down before the third quarter even ended.
Jaylen Brown (18 pts) led the league in offensive fouls this postseason, and he added to that tally with a push-off on Kelly Oubre Jr. that sent him to the bench.
The Supporting Cast: Nikola Vucevic had 2 points. Two. Derrick White was a game-worst minus-25.
The Celtics went more than four minutes without a point to close the third quarter. It was so quiet in the Celtics’ scoring column you could hear a pin drop—or the sound of Joe Mazzulla’s blood pressure rising.
The Highlight of the Century?
The play that effectively broke the Celtics’ spirit happened in the third: Kelly Oubre Jr. swatted Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey (who had a casual 30 points, by the way) scooped it up, fed it to George, who went behind-the-back to rookie VJ Edgecombe for a dunk that nearly took the rim off.
The arena erupted. The Flyers had just won their playoff game the night before, and for a few hours, Philadelphia was the center of the sporting universe. Boston, meanwhile, was the center of a very cold, very confused universe.
Can Boston Get Their "Ish" Together?
The series is headed back to TD Garden for Game 7 on Saturday. History says teams up 3-1 win 95% of the time, but the Celtics are currently in that 5% danger zone. They’ve spent the last two games being outscored by 42 points since the middle of Game 5.
Joe Mazzulla pulled his starters with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter to "give the game a different feel," which is coach-speak for "I can't watch this anymore." The only silver lining? The bench unit actually made it competitive for a minute.
Will the real Boston Celtics please stand up? Or are we watching the slow-motion collapse of a title favorite? Saturday night on Causeway Street is going to be a bloodbath—either for the Sixers’ comeback story or the Celtics’ championship dreams.
Next Up: Winner gets the Knicks. Based on how New York played tonight, maybe both these teams should be careful what they wish for.
