Philadelphia 76ers fans deserve some hope. Here are five ways they can get back in the series.
To say that the odds are stacked against the Philadelphia 76ers would be a gigantic understatement. No NBA team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit in the playoffs. Clearly, Philadelphia has a mountain to climb if they’re going to defeat the Boston Celtics.
76ers fans deserve some reasons to continue to trust the process, though. They are still a very talented and dangerous team. No one should bet on them to come all the way back against the Celtics, but stranger things have happened.
After all, Philadelphia is arguably the more talented team in this matchup. The first thing the 76ers might try is to give one of their most naturally talented players a chance to impact the series.
5. Roll the dice with Fultz
There’s a reason the 76ers passed on Jayson Tatum to draft Markelle Fultz. The Philadelphia brain trust believed the Washington guard was a better fit for what their team needed.
That seems like 100 years ago now. Fultz has undergone one of the weirdest rookie seasons in NBA history. His jump shot completely vanished and the team sent him into hiding to work on it. They brought him back late in the regular season, but he hasn’t featured against Boston.
Giving Fultz a chance in this series would be a crazy move by Brett Brown, but it might just be crazy enough to work. His insertion into the lineup might really help the 76ers defense. Terry Rozier has roasted Philadelphia’s point guards all series long. Fultz at least has the athleticism to stay in front of the former Louisville star.
4. Start Ersan Ilyasova
Dario Saric is a better player than Ersan Ilyasova, but that doesn’t mean he should remain the starter throughout this series. Inserting Ilyasova into the starting five could give Brett Brown’s lineup some much-needed energy.
Even more important than the energy Ilyasova plays with is the space he can provide the Philadelphia offense. Saric was a competent 3-point shooter during the season, but his true shooting is just over 50 percent in the postseason. His inability to make perimeter shots has definitely made life more difficult for Joel Embiid on the block.
If Ilyasova can make 3s at a high percentage then he becomes an interesting option for Brown. He’s going to get hammered on the other end of the floor, but Embiid can help cover for his defensive mistakes at the rim. At this stage of the series, Philadelphia’s priority needs to be scoring points against the stingy Celtics defense.
Starting Ilyasova over Saric might seem like a minor tweak, but it’s something that could swing the series in the 76ers’ favor. Time will tell if Brown has the nerve to move Saric to the bench.
3. Attack Terry Rozier
When Kyrie Irving went down with a season ending injury a lot of NBA experts thought Boston’s chances of making a playoff run were over. Credit Terry Rozier for stepping in for Irving and providing Brad Stevens with excellent play from the point guard position.
Philadelphia needs to stop letting Rozier run this series for the Celtics. They can do that by putting pressure on him at both ends of the floor. The clever point guard is averaging almost 37 minutes per game in the postseason, and the 76ers have to find a way to take advantage of his inevitable fatigue.
On the offensive end of the floor, Philadelphia needs to run Rozier through a ton of screens. Brown has plenty of bigs that can really lay into Rozier and make him feel every pick. After he runs into the likes of Embiid, Saric and Ilyasova, he’ll start to slow down a bit on the offensive end.
Philadelphia can work on attacking Rozier when he has the ball in his hands, too. Their point guards have to expend more energy making him work to bring the ball up the floor. That might be difficult for Ben Simmons, but it’s something TJ McConnell can do for his team. No matter who it is, the 76ers’ point guards have to wear Rozier out to turn this series around.
2. Simmons must protect the ball
Ben Simmons has taken plenty of criticism in this series, most of the focus being on his inability to score. The truth is his inability to protect the basketball has been just as problematic for the 76ers offense.
Simmons’ turnover rate in postseason play is a really ugly 23.7 percent. That’s far too high for a player with his talent. Brown can live with a few turnovers from his point guard, but he can’t give the Celtics so many easy baskets by making silly mistakes in the open floor.
Simmons either needs to commit his attention to avoiding turnovers or accept that he might not play the minutes he’d like. Expect the former to be his coach’s first suggestion. TJ McConnell is a nice backup point guard, but the Philadelphia offense can’t operate at maximum efficiency without Simmons at the controls.
In fairness, some of Simmons’ turnovers are the product of his lack of shooting confidence. If he pulls the trigger more often from the perimeter, it should help cut down his turnover percentage. No matter how he manages it, Simmons must protect the ball to give his team a chance to climb back in it against the Celtics.
1. Get Embiid better shots
Make no mistake about it, Joel Embiid has been the 76ers’ best player in this series. But that doesn’t mean the massive center has done everything he can do to help his team.
If Embiid takes another 3-pointer in this series, it better be at the end of a shot clock. Embiid might become an excellent perimeter shooter in time, but it’s not happening for him in this series. Philadelphia’s coaching staff needs to make sure all of his shots come at the rim.
Al Horford is a terrific defender, but he shouldn’t have the size to keep Embiid off his spots in the block. Even if all Embiid does is turn and try to shoot over the Celtics center, he should find a great deal of success. He’s just a lot bigger than the former Hawks star.
Of course, Brad Stevens isn’t going to make this an easy thing for Philadelphia to accomplish. He’ll instruct his team to bang Embiid all over the floor. The Celtics will also help against the talented center whenever they can bring a double team.
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Embiid is talented enough to block out everything the Celtics try to do in order to defend him. He is the 76ers’ biggest hope to pull a miracle in this series. If that’s going to happen, he must park himself in the paint and punish the Celtics defense at every opportunity.