The Celtics made this way harder than it had to be.
They were up 3-1. They had Game 5 at home. They had Game 6 in Philly. They had two chances to end this series and tell the Sixers to pack their shit.
Instead?
Game 7.
TD Garden.
Winner moves on. Loser gets buried under a mountain of Boston sports radio rage.
This is the kind of game where all the cute bullshit goes out the window. No more talking about being the better team. No more “we just need to execute.” No more moral victories. No more waiting around for shots to magically fall.
Go win the damn game.
And if Boston is going to do that, Derrick White needs to come back from the dead.
Derrick White Has Gone MIA
I love Derrick White.
I really do.
The Buffalo is one of the smartest winning players on this team. He defends, blocks shots like a maniac for a guard, makes the right reads, keeps the ball moving, and usually hits the kind of backbreaking threes that make the other team want to rip the floorboards out.
But in this series?
He has been way too damn quiet.
White’s recent playoff game log has him scoring 6, 6, 6, and 11 over the last four games. That’s not enough. Not from him. Not in this series. Not with Philly loading up on Tatum and Brown and daring the rest of Boston to punish them.
This isn’t some “Derrick White sucks” hit piece.
He doesn’t suck.
That’s why this is frustrating.
He is too good to be floating around like a background character while the Celtics are fighting for their playoff lives.
Boston needs the Buffalo spraying again.
Tatum’s Health Is the Scary Part
As if Game 7 wasn’t stressful enough, now Jayson Tatum’s leg is part of the conversation.
Tatum missed the final 15 minutes of Game 6 and was seen riding the stationary bike after dealing with left leg/knee stiffness. He’s been listed as questionable for Game 7, though Tatum said he expects to play and Joe Mazzulla said he’d be available.
Cool.
That’s better than “he’s out.”
But let’s not pretend that doesn’t make every Celtics fan nervous as hell.
Boston doesn’t just need Tatum present. They need Tatum dangerous. They need him bending the floor, attacking, forcing help, rebounding, making plays, and giving Philly a reason to panic.
If he’s limited at all, everyone else has to level up.
That means Jaylen Brown.
That means Pritchard.
That means Baylor.
And yeah, that absolutely means Derrick White.
Jaylen Brown Has to Come Out Like a Maniac
Game 7 is not a “feel it out” game.
Jaylen Brown has to attack from the opening tip.
No drifting. No waiting. No standing around watching Tatum test out his leg. Brown has to put his head down, get downhill, and make Philly feel him early.
If Tatum is even a little stiff, Jaylen has to be the first punch.
And even if Tatum looks perfectly fine, Jaylen still has to be aggressive because the Celtics cannot afford another slow, tight, weird offensive night where everyone waits for someone else to solve the problem.
Game 7 needs force.
Jaylen can bring force.
Let Pritchard Sling the Fucking Rock
Payton Pritchard has earned the green light.
He’s been one of the few Celtics who looks like he actually wants to shoot the ball when the building gets tight. That matters in a Game 7.
Some guys play scared when the pressure gets loud.
Pritchard plays like a little psycho with a flamethrower.
Good.
Use it.
If Philly loses him for half a second, shoot it. If he comes off a screen with daylight, shoot it. If the ball swings and he’s open, shoot it.
No hesitation.
Let Pritchard sling the fucking rock.
Baylor Too
Same thing with Baylor Scheierman.
If he gets minutes and the ball finds him, fire it.
This is not the night to catch the ball, pump fake, drive into traffic, and turn a good shot into a problem. Philly is going to send bodies at Tatum and Brown. The shooters have to punish them.
Baylor is on the floor to shoot.
So shoot.
Game 7 does not reward scared basketball.
Embiid and Maxey Are Coming
Philly is not walking into TD Garden just happy to be there.
Joel Embiid is probable. Tyrese Maxey is available. Paul George is probable. The Sixers are coming in with their main guys ready for a winner-take-all fight.
That means Boston better be ready for pain.
Embiid is going to try to slow the game down, live at the line, punish switches, and make every defensive possession feel like moving furniture up three flights of stairs.
Maxey is going to fly around like somebody gave a chainsaw sneakers.
Boston has to be sharp from the jump.
No lazy screen navigation.
No soft closeouts.
No dumb fouls.
No standing around after misses while Maxey turns the game into a track meet.
The Celtics Need to Stop Playing Tight
This is the part that has killed them.
When Boston gets loose and the ball moves, they look like the better team.
When Boston gets tight, everything turns into mud.
One guy dribbles. Four guys watch. The clock dies. Somebody takes a contested three. Philly runs. The crowd groans. Everyone looks confused.
Enough.
Move the ball.
Attack early.
Trust the shooters.
Get to the rim.
Make Embiid move.
Make Philly defend more than one action.
The Celtics have too much talent to look this constipated offensively in another elimination game.
What Boston Needs Tonight
They need Tatum healthy enough to be Tatum.
They need Jaylen aggressive from the jump.
They need Derrick White to wake the hell up.
They need Pritchard and Baylor firing without fear.
They need to make Embiid work on both ends.
They need to keep Maxey out of the paint.
They need to rebound like grown men.
And most importantly, they need to play like a team that understands what happens if they lose.
Because if Boston blows a 3-1 lead to Philly, nobody is going to care about excuses.
Not Tatum’s stiffness.
Not missed shots.
Not “we got good looks.”
Not “we just didn’t execute.”
Nobody wants to hear it.
Win.
Final Thoughts
This is it.
Game 7.
TD Garden.
No more second chances.
The Celtics are still talented enough to win this game and move on. They’re still the better team when they play right. They still have the weapons to beat Philly.
But none of that matters if they come out tight, passive, and weird again.
Derrick White has to wake up.
Tatum has to be Tatum.
Jaylen has to bring violence.
Pritchard and Baylor have to shoot with no conscience.
And Boston has to finally slam the door instead of standing there holding it open like a bunch of idiots.
No more playing with your food.
No more Game 8 jokes.
Go win the damn game.
— Hot Packs Off The Block / Dead Roots Fight Co.