C's 86 76ers
Sweep 76ers, get ready for Raptors
As much as his escape from Charlotte was predicated on joining a team with deep aspirations — one, certainly, that could transport Kemba Walker out of the first round — the Celtics point guard wasn’t in the mood Sunday to overplay the significance of his team’s first-round sweep of Philadelphia.
“I don’t know if it’s much to celebrate, honestly,” he said after the Celtics’ 110-106 win. “We didn’t do much yet. It’s a great thing that we were able to beat that team, of course. It’s a great team, great players, and it does feel good.
“But we know it’s not over. We know,” said Walker. “Toronto plays Brooklyn and depending on how that goes, Toronto is the defending champion, a tough team. So we’re going to watch out for that game and see how that goes and take it one day at a time. Whenever we know who we’re going to face, be prepared.”
Walker thus chose not to sniff a fairly lush bunch of roses on his way to the second round. So Jayson Tatum did it for him.
“That’s a big reason why Kemba came here, he wanted to be a part of something special and he wanted to win,” said Tatum. “And as happy as I am that we won, I’m even happier that he’s getting a chance to experience this. He’d never been out the first round. He’s been in the league for a very long time so just to be able to help him get there and experience this together, it’s fun, and hopefully it’ll continue.”
Despite Philadelphia’s toughest appearance of the series, with a defensive attack that found Joel Embiid challenging more perimeter shots, and Josh Richardson limiting Tatum to a nine-point, 3-for-6 first half, the Celtics finished off a weary-looking Sixers team with an overpowering 32-19 third quarter.
Tatum shook free for 10 of his 28 points in that stretch, and Walker was once again the steadiest Celtics scorer from quarter to quarter with a 32-point performance that included 9-for-10 free-throw shooting.
With most expecting coach Brett Brownt to be fired after seven seasons of The Process, the 76ers head back to Philadelphia trying to figure out why Ben Simmons and Embiid don’t work better together, and why Al Horford, of all people, had a chemistry issue.
The Celtics, in the meantime, are far from where Brad Stevens wants them to be on the eve of their second-round series, most likely against the defending champs.
Just call him Captain Hook: Stevens pulled Daniel Theis 30 seconds into the game when it became immediately apparent that Embiid needed a different look, like Enes Kanter. With 44.8 seconds left, and the Celtics leading by 10 points, the Celtics coach successfully challenged a call on Theis, with the call transferred to Horford upon video review. He’s not happy.
“We won two close games, had a great run at the end of the first quarter in another one, and today played really well for 39 or 40 minutes. So more good minutes than not,” said Stevens. “Still not good enough to be the best version of ourselves, which we’re going to be whenever that next series starts.”
Tatum found his finishing kick after a slow start: He had trouble with Josh Richardson — and help — in the first half, before freeing up for a 19point, eight-rebound second half. Overall he had 15 boards, a career playoff high. But with Toronto on the horizon, Tatum understands that the coverages are going to come at him harder.
“I guess it’s just something to expect moving forward,” he said. “They did a great job. They made it tough night-in and night-out and my teammates did a good job of making the right play and helping me make the right play. They were blitzing and doubling on the catch. Probably gonna be more of that, so I just gotta continue to get better and make the right pass.”
Tatum averaged 27 points and 9.8 rebounds in the series. Maintaining those averages is about to get tougher.
The Celtics held their own on the glass against Philadelphia. Can they keep it up? They were remarkably good on the defensive glass, and actually won Sunday’s overall boards battle, 52-49, despite Embiid and Horford grabbing 10 apiece. Tatum, with 15, is an example of how the smallish Celtics have to keep attacking the glass.
“Whatever I can do to help us play. All that matters is that we’re playing, so sacrificing my body and just giving that extra effort,” said Tatum. “That’s all rebounding is, it’s just selfless. So Enes did a great job boxing Embiid out, so it’s on the rest of us to go out there and rebound, get the ball and push it.”
The Celtics just completed a notable first-round streak: Last season’s first-round sweep of Indiana and a 2018 game against the Bucks included, the Celtics have won nine straight first-round playoff games. According to stat guru Dick Lipe, the run matches a nine-game first series run put together by a team you may have heard of — the mid-’80s Celts, who won nine straight from 198588. Also, according to Lipe, Walker (32 points, 8-for-15, 12for-13 FT) became only the third Celtic in franchise history to score at least 32 in a playoff game with 15 or less attempts. Kevin McHale (33, 10-for-14, 13-for-13 FT) did it against Atlanta in 1988, and Bob Cousy (32 PTS, 6-for-12, 20-for-23 FT) did it against Syracuse in 1954.