Celtics vs. Sixers: 6 Bench Players Who Will Be Key

The Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers find themselves in a crucial Game 4. 

Game 4 is in Philadelphia and the 76ers are looking to use their home-court advantage to tie the series 2-2. Game 4 is essentially a must-win game for Philadelphia. 

Each team must have their players step up, especially from the bench. 

The following three players from each team will play a key role in tonight's game. 

Mickael Pietrus

Mickael Pietrus will play a key role on both sides of the ball. 

Pietrus is both a defensive and three-point specialist. He will be counted on to come in and slow down one of Philadelphia's outside scorers. 

Pietrus is five-for-nine in three-point shooting so far in this series. That's a whopping 55.5 percent from three-point range, and if Pietrus can continue his hot streak, his long-range shooting will be huge in Game 4. 

Pietrus will play a key role on both sides of the ball and Philadelphia will have to keep an eye on him. 

Thaddeus Young

Thaddeus Young is a mismatch for any team. 

The combo forward is a great athlete. Young can use his long, athletic body in the paint or on the outside to create problems for Boston. 

In the first two games of the series, Young only averaged 4.5 points. In Game 3, Young exploded for 22 points in 26 minutes.

Philadelphia will need Young to play like he did in Game 3 and be a huge mismatch for Boston in Game 4.

Keyon Dooling

Based on his statistics, Keyon Dooling does not look like a key player at all. 

Dooling is only averaging just over nine minutes per game. However, those are key minutes. 

When Dooling is in, Rondo is getting his rest. Rondo is Boston's best player and needs his rest to be at full strength in the clutch. 

Dooling may not be big on the stat sheet, but his minutes are key to the Celtics. 

Lavoy Allen

Lavoy Allen faces a tough task as a rookie in the playoffs; Allen has to try to stop Kevin Garnett. This is not an easy task for anyone, let along a rookie. 

In the series, Allen is only averaging 8.6 points per game. Though he's not a scoring machine, Allen is still grabbing rebounds and doing a solid job on defense. 

Allen has a tough task ahead and will be a key to the Sixers taking Game 4. 

Ray Allen

Due to injuries and the emergence of Avery Bradley, Ray Allen is now a bench player. 

The veteran may not be the player he once was, but he still plays a key role in Boston's success. Allen can still shoot from long range with the best of them. 

Allen is only averaging 10.6 points per game in the series. Obviously, he's not the scorer of the past, but he still contributes. 

In Game 4, Boston will need Allen to drain threes and be a key factor in expanding their lead on Philadelphia. 

Lou Williams

If it wasn't for James Harden, Lou Williams would have been the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. 

Williams came off the bench and led the 76ers in scoring by averaging 14.9 points per game in the regular season. Williams is clearly a key player off the bench. 

In the series, Williams is averaging 10 points per game. Scoring has gone down in the series for Williams and the 76ers will need him to score at a higher rate in Game 4. 

Philadelphia needs Williams to be a key player in Game 4 and Boston will have to be ready for him to step up his game.