NBA Playoffs: Grading Each Philadelphia 76er Midway Through Matchup with Celtics

The Philadelphia 76ers made it to the playoffs once again, and they are currently competing against Boston in the conference semifinals.

Three games into the series, the Celtics lead two games to one.

Let's take a look at every man's performance from Philly's roster and see where the team stands heading into Game 4.

Sam Young

At 26 years old, Sam Young joined Philly midway through the season, and he received minimal playing time. During his time with the Sixers, Young averaged only 2.9 points per game.

The third-year suffered an eye injury on April 25 and, despite returning later that week, has not received a position in the postseason rotation.

Grade: N/A

Nikola Vucevic

A native of Montenegro, Nikola Vucevic doesn't look too shabby for his rookie year.

He may have averaged only 5.5 points per game during the regular season, but he also received only 15 minutes per game of playing time behind Lavoy Allen and Spencer Hawes.

Vucevic only earned a few minutes in Game 3, and he knocked down a single shot from the three-point line.

While he hasn't been influential in this year's playoffs, he does show potential moving forward.

Grade: C

Xavier Silas

Rookie guard Xavier Silas averaged only 26 percent from the floor during the regular season, bagging about five points for every 19 minutes on the floor.

He has landed one bucket during the current Boston series, in Game 3, but can hardly be considered relevant in Philly's postseason battle.

Grade: D

Jodie Meeks

Standing second in line behind Evan Turner at shooting guard, Jodie Meeks proves to be an average yet consistent player for the Sixers.

Meeks averaged eight points per game during the regular season; he's a careful shooter with a low turnover percentage and equally high free-throw percentage.

The third-year was almost non-existent in Round 1 of the playoffs but stepped it up for the current series. He averaged 6.7 points per game over the first three games, tallying an impressive 13 points in just 16 minutes in Philly's Game 3 loss.

If Meeks continues to play consistently, he'll stand as a reliable off-the-bench player for the Sixers moving forward.

Grade: C+

Lavoy Allen

At 6'9", rookie Lavoy Allen demonstrates strong potential to be an impact player in the league.

Allen averaged only 15 minutes and four points per game during the regular season, and he put up similar numbers during Round 1 of the postseason.

However, Allen has seen more playing time—averaging 23 minutes per game—that has led to increased point totals in the Boston series. Over the past three games, the Temple alum has tallied 26 points and 16 rebounds.

According to NBA.com's Brian Robb, Allen is the "sparkplug" needed on Philly's postseason roster.

Grade: B+

Elton Brand

During this postseason, Elton Brand has delivered numbers lower than are typical for the 13-year veteran.

Brand averaged 11 points and 7.2 rebounds per game throughout the regular season, and in the three games against Boston, he has averaged 4.7 points and only three rebounds. In addition, his minutes on the hardwood declined from 28 MPG to only 16 MPG.

In Game 3, Brand went 1-for-6 from the field.

Decreased minutes or not, this veteran isn't pulling his weight for the Sixers.

Grade: C-

Thaddeus Young

Coming out of the regular season averaging 12.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, Thaddeus Young struggled in the first part of the postseason.

Young averaged 7.2 points per game in Round 1. When he entered the conference finals against the Celtics, the fifth-year forward scored only five and four points respectively in the first two games.

Something changed in Game 3, however, and Young got down to business. In only 26 minutes on the court, he tallied 22 points. Overall, he shot 62.5 percent on the evening.

Judging by the difference between game performances, it's hard to predict what kind of impact Young will continue to have on the postseason.

Grade: C+

Spencer Hawes

Overall, center Spencer Hawes has held his own for the Phillies during this postseason stretch.

Hawes averaged 9.6 points per game throughout the regular season; in the conference final matchup, he is currently standing at nine points and 7.3 rebounds per game.

Hawes' biggest performance of the series came in the Sixers' narrow Game 1 loss, in which he scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

His accuracy dulled in Games 2 and 3, though, and Hawes will have to solidify his presence beneath the basket if Philadelphia is to pull out over Boston.

Grade: B-

Evan Turner

Almost every member of the Sixers' roster has put up one bad game in this Boston series, and Evan Turner is no exception.

And although he had a quiet scoring game Wednesday night with only four points, he still pulled down eight boards on the evening.

In Games 1 and 2, Turner ran the floor with ease, tallying 16 and 10 points, respectively. In addition, he grabbed a total of 16 rebounds in those games, improving from his season averages of eight points and four rebounds per game.

Overall, Turner proves one of the biggest impact players in this 2012 postseason.

Grade: A-

Louis Williams

While he is currently averaging numbers a bit lower than those of the regular season, Louis Williams has been one of the most consistent roster members for Philly during the Boston series.

Williams is averaging 10 points and 2.3 assists per game against the Celtics, and Game 3 proved to be his highest-scoring game (13).

Expect the seventh-year guard to have a solid Game 4 in pursuit of a tied series.

Grade: B

Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodala immediately got down to business against Boston.

In Game 1, the Arizona alum delivered an explosive performance, scoring 19 points and dishing out six assists.

During the regular season, the veteran averaged 12.4 points per game, proving to be a lower-performance year for him.

Despite scoring fewer points in the second two games (13 and 10 points, respectively), Iguodala continues to shoot close to 50 percent from the field and has kept the energy going for the team.

The one aspect hurting Iguodala is his inconsistency from the free-throw line. In Game 2, he hit only 2-of-7 from the charity stripe.

Grade: A-

Jrue Holiday

Heading into the playoffs, third-year guard Jrue Holiday was averaging 16.7 points and 4.9 assists per game.

Holiday started out the series slowly, scoring only eight and 10 points in the first two games, respectively. Philly lost Game 1 by only a single point, a glaring realization that Holiday shot at less than half of his average point total.

He did step up in Game 3, however, tallying 15 points and an impressive nine assists over 36 minutes of play.

Holiday's numbers have gone up progressively throughout the series; expect him to have a big game Friday night.

Grade: B-