Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey's explosive offense clash with Boston's struggling three-point game. Can the Philadelphia 76ers' star power seize Game 7?
With Game 7 taking place on Saturday, the series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics has become a simple question.
Can the Celtics shoot their way back into control? Or will Philadelphia keep dominating with its shotmaking ability?
The Sixers forced the decisive game with a 106-93 win in Game 6, and, over the last two games, the Celtics have averaged 95 points per game and are shooting just 29% from three. That is a dangerous place to be for a team whose identity has been tied to perimeter volume.
The reliance on shooting is not new for Boston. The 2024 Celtics won the championship as one of the best shooting teams ever assembled, making 14.5 threes per game and shooting 36% from deep in the playoffs.
This helped them finish with a 16-3 postseason record. This year's regular season follows the same pattern of being reliant on three-point volume. Boston sported a 38-5 record when they shot 36% or better from three and had an 18-21 record when they didn't. When the shots are falling, Boston looks fantastic, but when they aren't, the team looks out of sorts.
Philadelphia has also looked great. Paul George was fantastic in Game 6, finishing with 23 points and making tough shots after tough shots on Boston's defense.
Joel Embiid didn't have the best shooting night, but his presence was something Boston took note of, constantly dropping their coverage to keep bodies on him. This opened up looks for Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 30 points on 11-22 shooting.
Many of these looks were open because Boston was content with dropping back and giving Maxey open jump shots. The issue with that is Tyrese Maxey is one of the premier scorers in the league and can make those shots rather easily. Boston has been burned running drop coverage again and again; doing it once more in Game 7 will almost certainly result in their elimination. Tyrese Maxey is more than capable of shooting Boston out of the game if they keep letting it happen.
So Game 7 is not just about experience or home-court advantage. Boston still has the championship pedigree on paper, but Philadelphia is executing better on the court despite that reputation.
If the Celtics don't find their three-point rhythm, the Sixers have enough firepower to make this a very difficult game for Boston.
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Wes Dixon is a contributing writer to 76ersRoundtable. He can be reached at dixonwesley286@gmail.com.