NBA Matchups: April 28

PHI @ BOS | ATL @ NYK | POR @ SAS

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

Team Totals: 76ers 101.5, Celtics 113

Injury Report: Joel Embiid (P, recovery)

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

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)

Nurse quotes: Said their defense “was very bad” against the Celtics, said none of their matchups could guard anyone in Game 4, said they were a step behind on energy, said they didn’t have the right guys on Pritchard and it was due to not getting matched up in transition, said they were over-helping off Pritchard too much, said they are considering changing the back end of the rotation, said it’s disappointing that they have been blown out so often, said tactics don’t matter if they aren’t playing hard and it has to be a “big mental pickup” in Game 5.

Mazzulla quotes: Said PP has a “two-way evolution” and they have changed his role a ton, said they are at their best when PP is aggressive, said the Celtics dominating the boards is a strength of theirs, said they managed the game well with rebounding and were able to get to the line to help stop runs.

Stats and notes:

*The Celtics dominated the 76ers on Sunday thanks to 24 3-pointers on 53 attempts compared to 9-of-30 from the 76ers. Philly couldn’t make up points in the paint at just 34-32, and the Celtics even turned it over 12 times to eight from the 76ers. The 76ers are getting just 19.3 C&S attempts per game in this series, while the Celtics are getting up 31.8 per game. Boston was able to take away the easy stuff and still was able to pressure Tyrese Maxey enough (only 11.4% usage in the first half). The Celtics also continue to crush on the boards to take total control of this series.

*Jayson Tatum’s playmaking has been a huge story with his 15.0 potential assists per game in this series. The 76ers don’t have much to throw at him, and Kelly Oubre Jr. didn’t look 100%. Tatum’s paint scoring has taken a bit of a hit, which doesn’t really matter too much since he doesn’t have big volume there over his career. He’s in a pretty big spot here.