Philly's Rookie Just Turned Game 2 Into a Statement and Boston Has a Problem
The Philadelphia 76ers walked into Game 1 at TD Garden looking tight, playing scared, and got absolutely demolished 123-91. Their worst shooting performance of the season. Their mentality was all wrong. It looked like a blowout that would define the series.
Forty-eight hours later, they came back and stole Game 2 111-97, and now the Celtics are heading to Philly tied 1-1 with serious questions to answer.
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This is what a statement Game 2 looks like. The 76ers vowed a different approach after that Game 1 disaster, and rookie VJ Edgecombe delivered. He came out firing, dropping six 3-pointers on his way to a team-high 30 points. That kind of performance doesn't just steal a game. It sends a message: we're awake now, and we're coming.
Philadelphia played incredibly free and loose during their play-in win over the Magic last week. They lost that mentality in Game 1. Game 2? They got it back. That's the real story here. When your role players are hitting like that, when your young guys are confident on the biggest stage, you're dangerous.
Boston's Free Fall and What Happens in Philly
The Celtics came in as 14.5-point favorites heading into Game 2. They were a top seed. They should have closed this out. Instead, they missed a ton of 3-pointers, stagnated on both ends of the floor, and let a team they demolished come right back.
Now Boston has to go to Philadelphia and respond. How do you bounce back from that kind of letdown? How do you regain control of a series when your shot isn't falling and your rhythm is gone?
Game 3 tips off Friday at 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime. One thing to watch: the 76ers' Joel Embiid has started a strength and conditioning program as he works his way back from emergency appendectomy surgery less than two weeks ago. Whether the former MVP can return at all during this series could be the deciding factor.
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