2012 NBA Playoffs: The Celtics Can't Continue to Look Past the 76ers

The road seems to have opened up for the Boston Celtics. The team that would have posed the toughest matchup, the Chicago Bulls, lost their star point guard and their defensive anchor and consequently were knocked out in round one. The Miami Heat, the perennial favorite to win the conference, have lost their best big man and third-best player indefinitely.

After starting off the postseason by defeating the Atlanta Hawks in six games, the Celtics set themselves up for a second round meeting with the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers. The Celtics, a team that had a losing record at the All-Star break and were barely hanging on to the conference’s final playoff spot, now have home court advantage in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Things couldn’t have set up any better for the veteran Celtics. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the team would storm past the 76ers and match up with an ailing Heat team in the Eastern Conference finals.

Game 1 of the series against the 76ers was close, but ended as most people would have expected with Boston closing out the game in the fourth quarter. At many times during the game, the Celtics appeared lazy and lackadaisical. However, the final result was a win and everyone was willing to look past their sloppy play.

Game 2 was a different story. The Celtics started off scoring the game’s first nine points. It seemed as if they would steamroll to another victory and destroy the confidence of the young 76ers.

Instead of building on their early game momentum, the Celtics offense became stagnant. They stopped feeding Kevin Garnett in the post like they did in Game 1, and relied on their outside shooting. Rajon Rondo wasn’t attacking the basket. Paul Pierce wasn’t getting to the line.

 The Celtics scored just 24 points in the second and third quarters combined. They showed no sense of urgency and seemed to expect another late game victory over an inexperienced 76ers team.

Unlike the first contest, the Celtics were unable to win the game late. The 76ers hit a few more big shots, and outperformed a team known for their late game execution.

The Celtics need to take the 76ers more seriously. They can’t look forward to a potential matchup with the Miami Heat because quite frankly, they’re not good enough to look past any opponent.

The Celtics seem to think that as long as they keep the game close, they have the ability to easily outperform the 76ers in the fourth quarter. The way the first two games have played out makes one believe that Boston has little respect for Philadelphia.

The 76ers may not have a go-to scorer or a star player, but they are a very deep and athletic team. The Celtics can’t just save their energy for the fourth quarter. They need to play their best from the opening tip.

Even during his triple-double performance in Game 1, Rajon Rondo seemed to disappear at times. His energy and aggressiveness was far greater in the fourth quarter than it was in the first half. Rondo is the table-setter for the Celtics, so he needs to be the one that sets the tone early and keeps his teammates involved and energized throughout the game.

The Celtics are a completely different team late in games. They are more aggressive and play with far more urgency. If the Celtics play urgently and aggressively for the entire game, they will be able to beat the 76ers in five games. However, if they continue to disrespect and underestimate their opponent, this will be a hard-fought seven game series that Boston may end up losing.