The Celtics big adjustment that stopped Embiid & Harden 

Great to see Mazula making a legitimate adjustment in such a big spot as a rookie coach

You quick as hell my guy

You mean to tell me we're already at 2 50+ point game 7s after 75 years of NONE???

Timelord is super underrated because the celtics are deep as hell. I wonder if they zone the heat and force them to shoot 3 pointers. But the heat are so unpredictable and Spo will probably pull a buncha things out of his ass.

Turns out Embiid got abused in the pick and roll... absolute cinema😂

Actually poetic that Jokic got shit on by the internet for supposedly being vulnerable on defense to pnr. And yet Embiid ended the season getting targeted in the pnr until he visibly gave up

04:07 I never realized how difficult those pass could be for a pro and how short the timing is for a player to trigger his shot before the defense recover in those situations. I understand better why Jokic is a problem in those situations, he reacts quickly and his pass are fast and accurate.

I remembered earlier this season when ben did a video on the sixers beating the nuggets, because defensively they put tucker on jokic and allowed embiid to roam, which flustered jokic. So it seems interesting that this defensive strat came back to haunt embiid, with horford checking him and williams roaming. This also meant that doc never planned in advance for an opposing coach using his same defensive strategy on embiid.

After game six loss Embiid said, "I didn't even touch the ball in the last four minutes so what can I do?" After game seven loss Embiid said, "me and harden can't do it by ourselves we need help." I've never lost more respect for a player faster. Role players and bench showed up for game 7 it was Embiid and Harden who let everyone down and he took ZERO responsibility. Compare his response to Giannis "we are growing together and will get better, it's not a failure as much as a learning experience." Or even Durant "I take full responsibility I need to ingratiate myself in this team better and get used to their style." Embiid has the physical tools but completely lacks the mental fortitude and leadership of guys like Jokic, LeBron and Butler. Unless something drastic happens I don't think he'll ever win a chip as the top guy.

Joel MVPityd should fly to Denver and hand that MVP trophy to Jokic.

Mazulla was WAY too slow to give Williams a bigger role. It shouldn't have taken till g6

Can’t imagine what it would be like to watch a game with Ben, such good analysis

For a dominant Center who just won an MVP, Embiid sure needs a lot of help to get anything done out there...if the play is broken up, he hardly ever improvises successfully. Always looks stunned and helpless. Against decent defense, you can't just give him the ball to get a bucket like you can with MANY other players, not just Superstars

The real MVP would never allow this to happen 😤

Why wouldn't Harden shoot floaters when he was let into the paint, he was beyond passive and kicking out every single time. I couldn't stop shaking my head watching this.

Great to see some of the greatest game 7 performances in these playoffs like Curry's 50 point masterpiece and Tatum's 51 point explosion

Embiid missing hook shots Jokic makes in his sleep and unable to make difficult passes that Joker makes look effortless. Let's not forget how effective the Suns' pick and roll was against Jokic. Joker is the true MVP

as a Denver fan, Embiid getting torched in the PnR all game gave me so much satisfaction

Embiid has a blind spot in the high post that Jokic doesn’t have. He never sees the left side corner 3 defender. He should be catching the ball in the high post, and immediately watching to see which off ball defenders shuffle away from their man so you know who’s coming when you put the ball on the floor and make your move. He gets too many blindside steals and misses wide open corner 3 passes. You have to treat that high post catch like it’s a QB surveying the defense presnap.

Once again I can say the only trust i have in the process is 2nd round exits

God it’s so good to see Williams back. He’s so dominant man. Glad he was able to bounce back from his injury earlier. That’s a quality center right there.

The passing clips you showed really put in stark relief how much better Jokic is as a passer than Embiid. Has he improved as a passer? Yes, but he's still not a good passer. A number of those passes are VERY open to the point that if Jokic saw them it would be wide open 3s for those guys every single time, right in their shooting pocket.

Who knew the lineup that destroyed the league last year was still good

Not a big celtics watcher, but i feel like i always see the celts unstoppable when they have Williams playing the 5.

It felt so good seeing Embiid and Harden FINALLY get slowed down.. Lotta credit to Joe.

The closing line "for the 5th time in 7 seasons" gave me chills. Man these are the good years for Celtics fans. As much as people like to say they "have to get a ring", this is what success looks like.

Emboid is not an MVp Caliber type of player… should have been Jokic

I saw a source from the Celtics reported the players actually were begging/asking for Joe to use the starting line up from last season. So kudos to Joe on not being stuck in his ways and being flexible in his coaching

Doc Rivers had to have been the Celtics most valuable player

funny people said embiid was better than jokic and that jokic would get picked apart in the playoffs by ball handlers yet that hasn't happened to jokic but it did for embiid.

adjustment was remembering the other team had Game 7 Doc Rivers as coach

This is a very intelligent review and critique of the series. Great video.

So happy I stumbled on this channel. It's unbelievable how much I have learned from these videos

'The 76ers were very successful with Harden-Embiid pick and rolls against their smaller lineup." *Laughs in Jokic and Murray*

Really enjoyed this one!! You and Get GOODER at Basketball are my favorite for sure!

This channel is so good - the depth and approchability of analysis is really way ahead of the major sports news outlets.

MVP should have been Joker.

Great video, the spacing is "off" but its by design. Doc Rivers, Brett Brown, you name it, this Philadelphia team seems to always have either two in same corner or one in the corner plus one in the dunker spot on the same side. Especially when Embiid is posting up, that side is cleared out. So there's no double team coming from empty side corner, but there's no easy outlet either when the double comes from the weak side, unless someone is cutting to the basket or relocating on the perimeter. I know Brett Brown has defended this bad spacing as being by design in interviews, but the fact that its still here (even with him gone and Ben Simmons not on the team) and still a problem, is a massive red flag.

Better late than never. Really glad to see Mazula understand what changes could impact winning and give his team the best chance. I wish he used this against Atlanta, the same issues arose in that series. Horford kept getting attacked and kept giving up easy threes cuz he has to sagg off to keep up with any ball handler like Young, Maxey and Harden. Problem is all those guys can hit shots with half the space Horford was giving them for free. Even worse was he wasnt making it up on the offensive end. Im not sure why they werent playing Williams more (maybe injury prevention, fatigue or something) but I know their record when he plays and more spefically, plays a bunch of minutes, their record is insanely good. I think Horford should never be the primary big on the floor, I think hes a bit too much of a liability in a playoffs where switching and attacking weak matchups in those switches is what every team is doing. I know Horford does a lot of good in a lot of other places, but I think the opportunity cost of not playing Williams 30 mins a night is too much. I dont know if the Horford/Williams lineup will work against Miami, Denver or LA (if Boston even gets that far) but again, glad Mazulla was able to find the right solution. Last year Williams was so important in Boston having a top 3 defense. He got a defense team nomination for a reason. Again, I dont know why he had less minutes this year (again, assuming injuries/preventing injuries, minutes restriction or Mazula trying to make the team his vs Udoka) but hes a starting center and deserses 30 a night if he can handle it. I think Horford should be the secondary big on this team, and I think Grant Williams deserves a bit more tick too. He always brings energy and hustle, even if he ends up fouling more than he should or making a poor decision here or there. Hes a energy guy that gives it his all and defends like his career depends on it. I think a small part could be that his contract is up and they might be keeping him out to get a better price. Thats a bit of a conspiracy theory on my part, but I still think hes important to winning. But then again, theres a reason Im not a coach lol.

44.5% from the field in this series from the MVP.

Just imagine if 76ers actually had the quality of a MVP in their roster

Good paint protection has been a theme with the last two series

Putting Timelord in that starting lineup was game changing.

bro was quick as hell with dropping this video lmao

This is why I love rim protectors. Robert Williams III and Al horford, plus Jason tatum and Jalen brown and Marcus smart. Great defensive lineup. You need to have a plan if a team decides to attack a rim protector, making him leave his spot and force him to guard the perimeter or a corner 3pt shooter. That’s something Rudy Gobert gets flamed. He was not the problem.

Also why is Embiid so in love with those fadeaway shots. You're the goddamn MVP against 50 year old Al Horford, literally pound the ball to the hoop and force double teams

awesome video, looking forward to more

These are the best basketball analysis videos, hands down. Thank you.

In the name of all Nuggets fans, thank you for at least mentioning MVPs stelar PnR defense...

robert has always been one of my favorite players. so underrated!

Wild to see Embiid miss open passes in many of these clips. I feel like this defense really works because Embiid doesn't read the floor that well.

Thank you for finally discussing the Celtics after what has seemed like forever since you last did so. Really well thought out analysis here, your experience definitely shows and I've learned at least a few things for sure.

This is the beauty of the playoffs I can't wait to see the chessmatch between Spoelstra and Mazulla

If Jokic and embid switched. This would not work. Real MVP robbed

Nice Channel and series breakdown - looking forward to the next great series. Boston really made a statement in the last 2 games, that they can come up from behind. That's really important for the next series against a really strong heat team.

Please come out with merch. I've been a fan for a while and would love some! Keep dropping that heat! 🔥

Celtics showed championship grit out there, especially Tatum late in game 6.

This was the first playoff game I got to watch live here in the UK, and the stagnation of the 6ers offense was wild. I don't think I saw a single set play all game. I feel like they desperately needed another answer that wasn't pick and roll or post up. Why not sprinkle in some spain pick and roll with Maxey, or double drag screens, or pin downs for Harris to curl to the rim? Frustrating.

I love your videos so much. So informative and in-depth. Thank you.

very good analysis, keep up the good work

Ben’s the GOAT analyst and it’s not even close. And shout out to my guy Cody

"They forced Embiid to make tough passes if he was going to get around this defense and he couldnt." *Laughs in Jokic*

Great video!

What a great video man

I said immediately after game 5 that Tatum had 0 killer instinct. It was his worst flaw. I know I wasn't the only one who thought it. I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. He's playing with bad intentions currently, and I've never seen that out of him.

It’s funny cause I was talking to friends after Game 5 wondering why Joe didn’t go back to the 2 big lineup seeing as it was so effective last year. And behold for Game 6 they made the adjustment. Shout out the coaching staff

Absolutely spot on! I posted a comment on one of the nba insta posts saying the same thing! Taking away that pocket pass was huge! Disrupted that entire pick n roll game!

There were very few videos of yours this season, i realized that i was totally counting on your channel to follow the game when i totally forgot about it.

If Harden had more of a scorers mindset in these last two games, they could have blown this strategy up but he was thinking pass every time.

Shaq, Hakeem, Ewing and Robinson never had problems scoring against a non all star double team, especially one without a 7 foot center.

amazing content !!!

Anyone else think that these playoffs have been amazing from Play -In to Conference? Every single team in the playoffs actually beat someone qualifying them to be there, and every single team is in form. this bouta be fun.

was never an Embiid fan. he's Ewing 2.0, though a more whiny version. good luck on winning next year with Harden, if he stays

Helps that harden looked terrified to try a layup

Nice to see Rob's impact. Highlights online always focused on the offense.

Think of the mental aspect that had on Embiid and Harden: Embiid already has trouble against Horford. Now, he also has to worry about his shot getting sent back by Williams. Harden was already getting pestered by Boston's perimeter guys. Now, his passing lane to Embiid is covered, and Williams is there to deter his drive. Combine that with the Sixers' offense relying on them and Doc's lack of adjustment, it all was too much to overcome. Before the series, I said that the Celtics were too well-equipped to handle anything the Sixers wanted to do on both sides of the ball. Games 2, 3, and 7 were proof.

*Stopping the “whine until you get the MVP”

This scheme wouldn't work against the real MVP Jokic, who would pass Celtics to death. Embiid is still too one dimensional to win big in the playoffs where teams can zoom in on your weakness.

The best analysis I have heard....Many thanks.

Great Breakdown!

You know why i love rooting for Jokic? Because hes never bad like even if he plays under his standards once it will never happen in 2 games in a row or 3 games in a row. Hes never had a bad series and any given game you can be sure hel atleast be relativly effecienct and not turn the ball over too much

This goes to show that even if Ben Simmons took threes in Philly they still would have doubled Embiid or at least sagged off Simmons because he isn't a shooter, shooter. Same with PJ tucker, he even got it going early and Celtics were more than fine with it lol. Better than Embiid or Harden getting what they want inside.

Doc raising the floor but lowering the ceiling is a great way of describing it

That was a great analysis!

The problem is Embiid thinks he's Hakeem Olajuwon when he should be playing more like Shaq.

Now you see why Embiid isn't the mvp. These types of defenses do not work on Jokic. He is always ready to stretch out and find a guy and his guys know they will get a ball so they rotate much more than Phili, since there's a 90% chance Embiid will spend the ball after getting it.

Thanks for the hustle ben

Just watched game. One of Lakers nuggets and the Lakers did this to joker late with hachimura and Davis. Great analysis and help me see what they were doing, appreciate you!

As inconsistent as JT has been in these playoffs, both rounds 1 and 2 my biggest criticism of Boston has been Mazulla and his inability to adjust and game plan his defense in these playoffs. As a Celtics fan, this game was a huge relief and a restoration of my confidence in this team! Big props to Joe Ma for getting this team settled and making the changes needed for (what I've long thought would be) Boston's biggest challenge in this year's playoffs. ❤

I had been saying for weeks that the Celtics NEEDED to step up the defense back to an elite level to win the Finals, and it looks like it has finally arrived

Excellent pick ups

Can we talk about Embiid's braindead defense? Around 30 seconds into this video Embiid lunges left despite having a help defender and the out of bounds line as his support, Tatum immediately recognizes the mistake and drives into the paint for an easy score. Later at around 1:10 Philly calls for a double on Tatum, but Embiid fails to slide over to deny the entry pass to Horford, which opens up action leading to a wide open 3. Embiid's lack of attention to details like this put a ceiling on how far he can go in the postseason

I think the issue is Embiid bails out the defense waaaaay too often. Instead of playing like Giannis and get the ball at the 3 pt line and then drive, Embiid needs to get on the low block and get Horford in foul trouble.

Does this mean that timelord could indeed freeze the process?

Great content

🔥 🔥 🔥 Great content

The Celtics really have become the model of consistency. A scandal like Udoka's fallout would have ended any other team, but Ainge and Stevens have built a top tier roster, and they had a coach like Mazzulla who was capable to step up and lead the charge. Celtics/Nuggets should be an excellent chess match.

The MVP trophy is carrying bad luck apparently in the last years

Loved your analysis. To the point and very concise. Celtics needed that adjustment. #18.

Great analysis