The Celtics dropped a tough contest against the 76ers in Game 2 of the first round series, but there are reasons to believe that Boston can take Game 3.
After the Boston Celtics dropped Game 2 of their playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, some Celtics fans might be a little squirrly about how this series is going - or how it might go - as the scene shifts to Philadelphia for the first time.
Game 3 is on Friday night in Philly, and Game 4 will be played there as well.
Despite the trepidation that some fans may have, there are reasons for optimism, so let's take a look at them.
The Celtics are just better
This one seems obvious, but it has to be pointed out. Boston went 56-26 in the regular season and earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference for a reason. They are a better team and a deeper team.
They have the best duo in this series in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and they own the deeper stable of scorers, including Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser.
The most talented team usually wins out in a best-of-seven series, and that's clearly the Celtics.
Furthermore, we still don't know the availability for Joel Embiid moving forward, and even if he returns, will he really be 100 percent? And will the team be able to easily re-assimilate him into the fold, or will that re-assimilation be clunky?
The championship experience
Another simple one that can't be overstated. The Celtics have been to the Finals twice in the last four years, winning in 2023-24. They know how it feels to win titles and lose titles, and they've been in big moments. That should help them prevail against a lesser team, with lesser experience.
Will the Celtics really shoot this poorly again?
Boston went 13-of-50 from three-point range in Tuesday's loss. We know that a bad shooting night can derail the Celtics, but will they really have at least three more bad nights?
The track records are too strong to suggest that. The Celtics attempted the fourth-most three-pointers per game this season (42.1), but they made the third-most (15.5). They should be expected to hit those production and percentage levels more often than not.
The rebounding and the free-throw edge
The Celtics out-rebounded the 76ers in both games, including by eight in Game 2. They also attempted 18 free-throws vs. 11, leading us to believe that if they can continue to win some of those toughness stats, that they'll end up OK in the long run.
Game 3 is Friday at 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime.
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