2012 NBA Playoffs: 5 Reasons the Philadelphia 76ers Can Take Down the Celtics

It's not a series until someone wins a game on the road, right?

Well, game on.

The Philadelphia 76ers stole home-court advantage from the Boston Celtics with their 82-81 Game 2 win on Monday night, putting the NBA world on notice; their win over the top-seeded (and badly injured) Chicago Bulls was no fluke.

Now, the Sixers head back to Philadelphia tied 1-1, armed with the knowledge that they now only have to win every game at home to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

For a young team that was a possession away from being up 2-0 in this series, that makes the Sixers incredibly dangerous.

Here are five reasons why Philly should be taken very seriously moving forward in this second round matchup with Boston.

1. Philly's Backcourt

One thing's been made clear in this series thus far: the Sixers' young backcourt of Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday gives them a scary good core to build around for the next few years.

In Game 1, Turner's 16 points and 10 rebounds (12 points and eight boards in the first half) kept the Sixers in the game against the onslaught being unleashed by Kevin Garnett. Yes, he missed a jumper in the last few minutes of Game 4, but backcourt mate Lou Williams bears far more responsibility for the Game 1 loss.

On Monday, Holiday responded to a quiet Game 1 (eight points) with 18 points and four three-point bombs, and together with Turner, scored 10 of the Sixers' 25 points in the fourth quarter. Turner exploded for a critical layup with 40 seconds left, then hit two clutch free throws with 14 seconds to stretch the Sixers' lead to three, out of the Celtics' reach.

It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Philly's fate in this series would largely depend on how Holiday and Turner performed against the defensively solid Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. Through two games, the Sixers' guards arguably have the edge.

2. Defense, Defense, Defense

This series was prognosticated to be a defensive slugfest, and through two games, it's lived up to the prediction and then some.

The Celtics ranked No. 2 in the league in terms of defensive efficiency in the regular season, and the Sixers trailed right behind in third, so it's not difficult to see where these teams focus most.

Both games in this series have been decided by only one point (granted, Garnett hit a meaningless three-pointer with only seconds left in Game 2), so there's no reason to expect a blowout by either team any time soon. In all likelihood, the outcome of each game in this series will come down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

While the Sixers have gone through their typical offensive droughts at times in this series, they haven't let it negatively affect their energy on defense, limiting the Celtics to an average of 86.5 points per game. If the Sixers' defense continues suffocating the Celtics' offense, the road won't get any easier for the C's in Philadelphia.

3. Boston's Injuries

Toward the end of Game 2, TNT flashed a graphic that speaks largely to why the Sixers stand a chance in this series: Celtics sharpshooter Ray Allen has only knocked down 28 percent of his tries from deep (7-of-25) in these playoffs, his worst-ever three-point shooting average in the playoffs.

Not to play the conjecture game, but Allen's also been hampered by bone spurs in his right ankle in recent weeks, painful enough to keep him out of the Celtics' final nine regular season games and first two games against the Atlanta Hawks. You think the two aren't related?

Meanwhile, small forward Paul Pierce is limited with a sprained MCL in his left knee, which by his admission hampers him from making certain movements on the court. As Zach Lowe from Sports Illustrated noted on Twitter Monday night, "One way to tell Pierce isn't close to 100 percent—his transition defense is spotty, forcing others to take Iggy now and then."

It hasn't appeared to play a factor yet, but Kevin Garnett's been battling a painful hip flexor all season. Swingman Mickael Pietrus will need arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this summer, according to ESPN, but he'll play through the pain for now. And Avery Bradley, the C's best defensive guard, re-injured his left shoulder in Game 2.

The Celtics, when fully healthy, have the talent to beat the Sixers, without question. The question becomes, how close to fully healthy will the Celtics ever get in this series?

4. The X Factor... Lavoy Allen?

Raise your hand if you expected Lavoy Allen, ESPN's No. 500th ranked NBA player this summer, to have 22 points and 14 rebounds through two games of this series? How about to be the guy to temporarily shut down a future Hall of Famer?

You, either? OK. Moving on.

Allen, the second-round rookie out of Temple, has been the Sixers' best post defender, and the only Sixers big man with the ability to body up with Garnett so far this series.

As NESN.com noted, Allen spent 30 minutes on the court during Game 2 guarding Garnett, limiting him to only 15 points after 28- and 29-point games in his past two. Allen admitted after the game that he made a concerted effort to keep K.G. out of the paint, while closing out and prevent Garnett from hitting his deadly mid-range jumper, too.

If Allen can continue providing even passable defense against Garnett, that gives the Sixers a massive advantage in the rest of this series.

5. Take Advantage of Home-Court Advantage

The Sixers can kick themselves all they want for not being up 2-0 in this series, but at this point, they need to focus on the positives. They went into Boston with the mission of stealing one game on the road, and accomplished that mission in spades.

Now, they head back to Philadelphia knowing that they don't have to win another game in Boston this series to advance, so long as they take care of their home court.

Philadelphia's going to be loud on Wednesday. Boston fans and Philadelphia fans aren't necessarily the best of friends, in case you haven't noticed, and nothing would please Philly fans more than to put an early end to a Boston team's playoff run. (Well, maybe beating a New Yorker.)

New Sixers owner Adam Aron has been pulling out the stops to reinvigorate Philadelphia as a basketball city this year, but the Sixers' Game 2 victory may do more than he ever could have hoped to accomplish on his own.

Philly will be pumped about the Sixers for the next few days and showing their "luv" all across the city. The Sixers need to take advantage of their rowdy supporters, rattle the Celtics in these next two games, and head back to Boston up 3-1 and ready to deliver the finishing strike.

Otherwise, it's back to square one for the Sixers and the Celtics in this series. And that scenario likely doesn't bode well for the Sixers' chances of advancing.