By: Kylan Watson
The Philadelphia 76ers find themselves down by two games in their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals match-up against the Boston Celtics. The Sixers blew a 22-point lead against the Celtics on Thursday night. The 76ers have been unable to put together a satisfactory performance against the Celtics. The Sixers have been outplayed by the Celtics and have been frustrated by the athleticism of the Celtics. The player that has been frustrated the most is Ben Simmons. Simmons must find himself, or else the Sixers may end up getting swept by the Celtics in Philly.
The Sixers held a 22-point advantage early in the first-half of Game 2. However, the Celtics went on a 26-2 run and cut the lead to six points by half-time. During the run Brett Brown did not call a time out and the Sixers committed a lot of dumb turnovers. These blunders would set the tone for the rest of the game. As the Sixers would scratch and claw to maintain a lead. However, they would fall to the Celtics by a score of 108-103.
The biggest piece missing for the Sixers has been Guard, Ben Simmons. Simmons is a huge part of the Sixers game-plan on both sides of the ball. The Celtics have done an excellent job of shutting down Simmons. A huge part of Simmons’ offense is his ability to attack the paint. The Celtics are daring Simmons to prove that he has a jump shot and Simmons has been unwilling to take the offer.
Simmons scored 1 point in Game 2, if the Sixers are going to comeback they must find a way to get Simmons involved often and early during Game 3. Brett Brown has been outcoached by Brad Stevens and he must find a way to take Simmons off the ball and run some plays to get him some easy shots, to get his confidence up. A more involved and energetic Simmons is good for the Sixers and increases their win probability.
The Sixers have been hit in the mouth by the Celtics and now are up against not only a confident Celtics team, but franchise history as well. The Sixers are 0-11 when down by two games in playoff series, and the Celtics are 36-0 when up by two games in playoff series.
The real Ben Simmons must show-up if the Sixers are going to comeback. This current version of Ben Simmons will not beat the Celtics, the Sixers need the Simmons that averaged 18.5 points per game, grabbed 8.6 rebounds per game, and 9.0 assists per game against the Heat. The real Ben Simmons needs to stand-up and show-up tonight if the Sixers are going to win in Game 3 at 5 pm EST on ESPN.
