East Conf. Semis - Game 2: Philadelphia 76ers 103-108 Boston Celtics - 5 Talking Points

After their 16-game win streak to end the regular season, everybody saw the talent in the Philadelphia 76ers and how potent they could be on both ends of the floor. Some even said, based on their potential opponents in the Playoffs that they could make the NBA Finals. The young Philadelphia squad has failed to adjust not only on the fly within games but even between games of a particular series (Miami Heat wasn't really a litmus test).

Two games into the Conference Semifinals against the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers don't look unbeatable anymore. They are currently in a 0-2 hole against the undermanned Celtics.

While their disappointing Game 1 loss could be credited to rust from their lay-off, given they had close to six days off since eliminating the Miami Heat in 5 games, there were no excuses for the loss in Game 2.

Here are the five major talking points from the game:

#5 Is Boston's run sustainable?

Marcus Smart was an added boost to the Celtics' squad late in their series against the Bucks

So since March 11th, the Celtics had been playing without Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart. However, they didn't give in. In that span of 15 games, they went 9-6. Not bad at all for a team playing with one border-line All-Star (Al Horford) and multiple players on their rookie contracts.

Everybody sort of played their 9-6 record down to it being the regular season and certain teams taking an off towards the end. Well, in the first round, they beat a Milwaukee Bucks' squad that had the best player in the series (Giannis Antetokounmpo) in 7 games. That was played down to Milwaukee failing to unleash itself and not reaching its true potential.

And here they are again, sitting with a 2-0 series lead in the Conference Semifinals against a more talented 76ers team. At some point, we have to give them credit, right?

When do the Celtics get credit for reaching the stage they are at? And at some point, we have to start thinking, whether this run is sustainable? Have these guys gotten so accustomed to doing this, that they could advance another round? What about reaching the Finals?

Game 2 brought up some serious questions, some we weren't contemplating earlier and some that we still don't have the answers too.

#4 Relentless team effort by Boston

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics - Game Two

Maybe undermanned but the Celtics ensure each night they are not outworked by their opponents. Despite being down by as many as 22 in the second quarter, the C's never gave up and made a run every time it was required to keep the game within their grasp.

Unlike Game 1, they didn't have three players scoring more than 25 points but it was still a balanced scoring night. Six players finished with double-digit points tally, led by rookie Jayson Tatum (21). A couple of other starters had all-around nights in Terry Rozier (20 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds) and Al Horford (13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists) while Jaylen Brown, who was nursing a left hamstring, had 13 points coming off the bench for 25 minutes.

Defensively, they were as good as have been all through their 82-game regular season - the team with the best defensive rating (101.5).

#3 Redick, Embiid and Covington showed up but nobody else

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics - Game Two

When it comes to putting up numbers, Joel Embiid was Mr. Consistent again, as he recorded 20 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists after putting up 31p, 13r, 5a in Game 1.

After the entire team had a horrid shooting night in Game 1, Robert Covington and JJ Redick had good bounce-back games with the duo combining for 45 points on 15-of-32 shooting (46.8%) and 9-of-16 (56.3%) on 3s. Covington even had 2 steals and 2 blocks to add to his box score.

But for everybody else on the team (especially their wing shooters), despite a strong steady start, it was yet another bad game. Dario Saric put up 14 (4-of-13 shooting), Ersan Ilyasova had just four points in 16 minutes and Marco Belinelli had 11 points in 20 minutes but on 5-of-11 shooting (1-of-4 3s).

There's one more player we haven't mentioned yet but he deserves a slide to himself.

#2 Miserable second 6 minutes of the second quarter

Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics - Game Two

Yes, the 76ers had a lot of chances when the game was close, in the second half, to seal the game but it shouldn't have been close in the first place. Philadelphia led as many as 22 and that was with 6:41 remaining in the second quarter but it all went downhill from there.

From that point on, the Celtics battled back with a 25-8 run, thus cutting the lead at halftime to just 5 points. In that run, Philadelphia only managed 3 field goals (1 three-pointer) and a free-throw. Yes, let that sink in, in 6:41 minutes of playing time, a potent offense like the 76ers only scored 8 points - 3 FG's and 1 free-throw.

What's worse, this isn't a one-off. Philadelphia has blown four 20-point leads this season, which is tied for the most in the last 20 seasons (regular season and Playoffs). And one of those four times happened against the C's on Jan. 11 in London.

#1 Ben Simmons who?

Ben Simmons

Game 2 stat line: 1 point, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers, 0-of-4 shooting in 31 minutes

Yes, he's a rookie but this is exactly why you wait for a season to complete and then make proclamations that he's the next Magic Johnson or that he's a jump shot away from being the next LeBron James. If my memory serves me right, Magic Johnson, as a rookie, played center in Game 6 of the NBA Finals and recorded 42 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in a championship-clinching win.

Anyway, that comparison is immaterial now.

Point is ROY candidate Ben Simmons was a no-show in Game 2. How did he manage to score just 1 point in 31 minutes? How did he attempt only four shots?

If Game 2 against the Miami Heat was a rude awakening, what was this? Either way, no just Ben Simmons but the entire 76ers' squad as a whole have plenty of stuff to work on before Game 3 in Philadelphia on Saturday night.

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