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5 takeaways from the Celtics shutting down the 76ers process

By Jeremy Lambert

PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 5: As Boston Celtics Al Horford, left, was doing a post-game interview, teammate Jayson Tatum jumped in and called him, "Playoff Al" before running away. The Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics in Game Three of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on May 5, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 5: As Boston Celtics Al Horford, left, was doing a post-game interview, teammate Jayson Tatum jumped in and called him, "Playoff Al" before running away. The Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics in Game Three of the Eastern Conference semifinals at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on May 5, 2018. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 07: Boston Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens fields questions after the Eastern Conference Semifinal Game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers on May 07, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – MAY 07: Boston Celtics Head Coach Brad Stevens fields questions after the Eastern Conference Semifinal Game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers on May 07, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Brad Stevens is a wizard

The genius of Brad Stevens has been stated all season. At times, it felt overblown, with some anointing him as the best coach in a world where Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr still exist. But after watching this series, what else can you say about the guy?

There’s a reason why the Celtics made it to the Conference Finals despite missing two All-Stars. Guys stepped up, but they stepped up because of proper preparation and planning. One thing you never had to worry about with the Celtics was whether or not they would be mentally and physically up to the challenge.

A big part of that is the coaching of Stevens.

On top of getting his team to play hard on every possession, he might be the best in the league on the whiteboard.

Boston won Games 3 and 5 because they out-executed Philadelphia down the stretch. Stevens got his team layups when the game was on the line. The Sixers oftentimes turned the ball over.

For some reason, good teams and great players do dumb things or make shots tougher when they are playing the Celtics. Everything that has worked all season no longer comes as easy. We can credit the defense of Boston, but the more likely explanation is that Stevens is a wizard who can trick players into making mistakes.

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Joel Embiid feasted on players in the post all season. All of a sudden, Aron Baynes is shutting him down. Marco Belinelli and Ersan Ilyasova were microwave shooters who sparked bench runs. They couldn’t buy buckets against Boston. Stevens straight up made Robert Covington disappear.

He’s a wizard. Accept it.

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