NBA Matchups: April 21

PHI @ BOS | POR @ SAS | HOU @ LAL

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

Team Totals: 76ers 101.5. Celtics 115.5

Injury Report: Ron Harper Jr. (P, ankle)

76ers projected starters: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., Adem Bona

Celtics projected starters: Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta

Offensive Ranks: 76ers 17th (23rd halfcourt), Celtics second (fifth halfcourt)

Defensive Ranks: 76ers 17th (10th halfcourt), Celtics fifth (seventh halfcourt)

Season Series: 2-2

Noteworthy Missed Games: Jayson Tatum (4), Nikola Vucevic (3), Joel Embiid (2), Paul George (4)

Nurse quotes: Said “a lot went wrong that’s for sure,” said they got it going a bit in the second half and had their legs under them, said they didn’t get enough 3-point shots up and they were turning them down, said Tatum got downhill against them and they were not in good help positions, said they can’t give up that much in transition and they need more 3-point volume, said they had too many pump fakes and driving, said the rim finishing was a big factor on both sides, said Bona was solid in his 14 minutes.

Mazzulla quotes: Said they did a great job on the boards, said Hauser made some big shots for them, said they have so many different ways to play and that’s one of their best strengths, said they know they have to take care of the ball in the postseason, said Queta had a great game of controlling the paint, said Tatum built his confidence through the work.

Stats and notes:

*Just an absolute beatdown on Sunday. The craziest stat was that the Celtics scored 41 points on 20 transition possessions (2.05 PPP). The 76ers were able to get some points in the paint at 58 to Boston’s 42. The 76ers couldn’t establish any pace at just 11.2% of possessions not in the halfcourt, and their halfcourt offense was brutal at 83.9 points per 100. The Celtics just buried the 76ers at the rim at 17-of-19 shooting (89.5%) compared to 15-of-27 (55.6%) from the 76ers. This should be another blowout.

*The Celtics brought a lot of pressure to Tyrese Maxey with Derrick White as his primary, and most importantly, they were able to limit him in transition. Their halfcourt defense on him was particularly good, but Maxey was still able to get 13 shots in the paint with his floater game. Expect the Celtics to have a similar game plan, and Maxey will get a ton of usage going his way. I’d expect the 76ers to lean into him more as a C&S guy off the ball, too.

*Paul George had his hands full with Jaylen Brown on him while he “guarded” Jayson Tatum. It was a really tough runout, and the Celtics weren’t bringing their help off him, either. He only had an 18.8% usage rate with zero shots at the rim, and the Celtics kept him to just 15 frontcourt touches. This is a terrible spot.

*VJ Edgecombe didn’t have a great showing with a 13/3/3 line over 34 minutes. The matchups broke OK for him with Sam Hauser guarding him a decent bit, and I’d expect the 76ers to put Edgecombe on the ball more. It’s still just a tough spot because the Celtics take away so much of the easy stuff he needs.

*Kelly Oubre Jr. had the matchups not break his way with just Tatum on him, and he couldn’t generate much 1-on-1. The Celtics did help off him a decent bit, which should happen again in this spot because of how successful that strategy was. It’s a decent spot despite his huge defensive responsibility (guarded Tatum and Brown).

*It sounds like Adem Bona is going to play a little bit more than Andre Drummond, and Drummond was an utter disaster. I want no part of either in a terrible matchup.