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Celtics discuss impact of Joel Embiid's return in opening round originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The opening round of the NBA playoffs between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics went the distance to a full seven games, with the seventh-seeded Sixers prevailing when all was said and done.
The series was certainly set to provide no upsets in the opening three matches, given that Boston took the opener, 123-91, and game three by an eight-point margin. Through the first three matches of the series, the Celtics were outscoring the Sixers, 328 to 302, something that had to change for Philadelphia if they wanted to stay in it, and something did.
What moved the needle in the Sixers' favor?
According to Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla, the series changed when Joel Embiid returned in game four.
"What changed in this series is Joel Embiid came back, and they're a completely different team,” Mazzulla stated to the press.
It wouldn’t be entirely obvious immediately, as Boston still came out on top against Philadelphia in Embiid’s first game back, but that would change down the stretch. Out of his four appearances in the opening round, the Cameroonian would drop more than 30 points on two occasions, providing his team with the lift in crunch time to get them to the semi-finals.
Mazzulla’s sentiment about the Sixers being a different team when the former MVP is on the court was shared by Neemas Queta, who was tasked with guarding the Big Fella throughout the series.
“They’re a totally different team with him,” Queta explained. “Great player, makes a lot of plays, makes it hard for every player on the court, whether you double or you can be more aggressive out there with him with the reaches and stuff like that, they look a lot better with him.”
Given the 28-point, nine-rebound, and seven-assist stat statline that Embiid carried throughout his four games against the Celtics, it's apparent that the second-seed struggled to find a solution.
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