“3 Key Parameters to Watch in the Crucial Game 5 between Sixers and Celtics: Joel Embiid’s Aggressiveness, Outside Shooting, and Defensive Strategies”

In a crazy overtime scenario, the Philadelphia Sixers came back to 2-2 against the Boston Celtics in this Eastern Conference semi-final. Boston lost its mini-break but returned to TD Garden to try to regain the lead. Wouldn’t this be one of the most important matches for The Process?

That’s it, here we are: the culmination of the long process launched by Sam Hinkie – former GM of the Sixers – before the draft of Joel Embiid. Although it hasn’t always been easy to believe in this project, “Trust the Process” may be on its way to success this year (or crash completely if it fails again): a table of Playoffs without a real favorite, a solid star to supplement MVP Joel Embiid and a decent rotation they can relatively rely on. All the indicators are in the positive for the Sixers: they must write their history. But be careful because the men of Joe Mazzulla intend to destroy the hope of Philadelphia. The Celtics are irregular but above all very strong, and if it falls into it, it will take an XXL performance on the Philly side to get rid of the 2022 finalists. Come on, let’s get wet, a little by proposing 3 key parameters to observe during this heavy Game 5 ‘challenges !

The aggressiveness of Joel Embiid

We repeat it at each preview but the health of the reigning MVP is a necessary parameter for the victory of the Sixers. This is the main concern on the Philly side: will Joel be able to gallop with his knee? We saw him much more dominant during this Game 4: 34 points, 13 rebounds and a nice 12/15 on the free throw line. Encouraging figures but which mask a complicated fourth quarter where he is no longer in it: 2 points at 1/6 in shooting. What has changed ? His aggressiveness against the very good defense of Al Horford. We saw him much less impactful than at the start of the match: he didn’t shoot any quarter-time shots when we know that is one of his major assets. Embiid must use all of his offensive panoply to vary his game and therefore cause the errors of an interior defense diminished by offensive tactical choices (Horford is the only interior of the 5 major). PJ Tucker did not hesitate to remind him of this at the end of the match by barking in his ears:

Harden & Embiid both showed up big time in an absolute must win, but THIS moment from PJ Tucker is my moment of the game. This is exactly why you go get PJ Tucker. Nobody better at what he does. Unbelievable.pic.twitter.com/0yMsGfgQEv

— Josh Reynolds (@JoshReynolds24) May 7, 2023

So certainly it is always complicated – especially at the moment T – to assess the impact of an injury on a player’s performance. But let’s hope this last quarter has nothing to do with Embiid’s health.

The outside address

It seems almost trivial but Boston lives off its 3-point skill. During the regular season, Boston was 25th in shot volume taken near the circle. This figure is due to spacing maxed by Joe Mazzulla with 5 outfielders who can plant 3-pointers (5-out). Against the Sixers, this strategy is taken all the more to the extreme when you know that there is Joel Embiid in the interior defense: the Celtics almost take one of two 3-pointers in this series. If Boston wants to take the challenge against Philly, we will not have to see a drunk Jayson Tatum again in the first half (2 points at 1/9 shooting). And on the Sixers side, the return of a dangerous Embiid causes delays. We saw the Celtics come and trap Embiid in sequence: the role players be ready to put in when it does again.

Take 2 or leave Horford on Joel?

One of the things to watch will be the defense on Joel Embiid. During the first three quarters of Game 4, Boston mostly let Al Horford or Robert Williams stick with Jojo. But in the last quarter, we saw a lot more traps that disrupted the MVP. The Sixers — especially Embiid — will have to be vigilant when Boston decides to come in to help. It will be interesting to watch how Boston varies their defensive holdings. In any case, James Harden will have to ensure to force his defender to stay on him.

It is therefore perhaps one of the most important matches of Joel Embiid’s career that will be played tonight. A battle of capital importance which will have to be won on several aspects of the game. The stars will be eagerly awaited! Should we have faith in The Process? Answer tonight at 1:30 for a crucial Game 5!