There’s a very real chance the Boston Celtics will face the Philadelphia 76ers without NBA MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid when the two teams begin their Eastern Conference semifinal series Monday night at TD Garden.
Embiid on Sunday was listed as doubtful by the Sixers as the big man deals with a right knee sprain. He did, however, participate in shootaround Monday morning.
But even if Embiid is not in Philadelphia’s lineup for the series opener, it certainly doesn’t mean the Celtics would be in the clear. The Green, for whatever reason, had trouble handling opponents who were without their best players during the regular season.
Celtics play-by-play man Sean Grande compiled a list of examples proving just that.
Among them, the Celtics lost to the Jamal Murray-less Denver Nuggets in early January, lost to the Thunder (by 33 points!) despite Oklahoma City being without Shai Gilgeous Alexander later that week, lost to the Jimmy Butler-less Miami Heat in late January and lost to the Washington Wizards, who were without both Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma in late March, among others. Most recently, Boston wasn’t able to handle the Atlanta Hawks, who were without Dejounte Murray in Game 5 of their first-round series.
Some of those aforementioned contests — the loss to the Thunder, specifically — are among Boston’s worst losses of the season.
The 76ers had plenty of experience without Embiid in the lineup this season and went 12-5 without him. The Celtics acknowledged how the Sixers play differently without Embiid, but Philadelphia’s overall buy-in nevertheless has been on display even without its best player.
The Celtics will have to ensure they buck that trend, not allowing themselves to play down to their competition as they have done so often in the past. Boston is a 9.5-point favorite for Game 1, as of Monday at 1 p.m. ET.
Tipoff from TD Garden on Monday night is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.
