To put it plainly, a lot was on the line today in this Easter Sunday matchup between the surging Boston Celtics and the free-falling Philadelphia 76ers.
Coming into the game, the Celtics held a two-game lead over the 76ers in the Atlantic Division with 11 games left to play. Looking at the two teams' remaining schedules, one could easily say that Philadelphia still had a decent shot of winning the division crown, as Boston has a very tough road schedule (including two games against the Miami Heat) to end the season, while the Sixers' schedule consists of mainly lottery teams (six of their final 10 contests will be against non-playoff contenders).
Nevertheless, given the fact that Philly had gone 9-17 in its past 26 games after a 20-9 start and was blown out by the lowly Toronto Raptors two games ago, perhaps the schedules didn't mean much, as the 76ers and the Celtics (16-7 since the All-Star break coming into today's game) appeared to be two teams headed in entirely different directions.
Well, if we needed any further confirmation that that was true, we received it today, as Boston came out and absolutely obliterated Philadelphia 103-79, grabbing a three-game division lead to put a stranglehold on the Atlantic Division.
For the C's, it was their seventh win in nine games. For the Sixers? Their fourth consecutive loss.
After a close first quarter, the Celtics took complete control, with Kevin Garnett shooting lights-out from the floor to lead all scorers with 20 points and Rajon Rondo extending his double-digit assist streak to 17 games by handing out 15 dimes. Boston shot just under 59 percent from the field as a team and drained seven of its 15 three-point attempts.
Then there was Philadelphia. Talk about an ugly box score.
The 76ers shot the ball at a 38 percent clip, making only two of 11 three-point attempts. Their leading scorer? Nikola Vucevic with 14 off the bench. Also, Rondo had as many assists as the entire Philadelphia team.
So, what happened to the Sixers, a team that was so dominant early on in the season? Well, they started playing a tougher schedule.
Ever since January when Philly was cruising and Boston was being called old and decrepit by many, I maintained that, in the end, the Celtics would come out on top of the Atlantic, and I also thought that the New York Knicks would end up surpassing the 76ers when it was all said and done (and, as of right now, the Knicks are the seventh seed and Philadelphia is eighth).
Why did I think this? Well, just take a look at the teams the Sixers beat early on in the season. How many quality wins do you see on that resumé in January? Not many.
Also, who does Philly have that it can consistently count on late in games? Nobody, really. Perhaps that is why the 76ers are 0-8 in games decided by four points or less. They have no go-to guy that they can give the ball to and say "here, take over" in the fourth quarter, and if you want to call yourself a legitimate contender, you need that.
After the embarrassing loss to the C's, Philadelphia is now 9-18 since its 20-9 start, going from division leaders to being on the brink of missing the playoffs completely, as it sits only one game ahead of the upstart Milwaukee Bucks for that eighth and final playoff spot.
Now, let's examine the other side of the coin and take a look at the Celtics.
They have been simply tremendous since trudging into the All-Star break with a record of 15-17. Since then, they have gone 17-7, with Avery Bradley using Ray Allen's ankle injury to his advantage to work his way into the starting lineup and become an integral piece to the team. Allen? He is now coming off the pine, and he is happy about it.
The life Bradley has injected into Boston is not the only good piece of news for the C's heading into the playoffs, though.
Greg Stiemsma, whose playing time increased drastically when it was announced that both Jermaine O'Neal and Chris Wilcox would be out for the remainder of the year, has been terrific as Boston's big off the bench, and Mickael Pietrus, who suffered a concussion in the Celtics' previous meeting with the Sixers a couple of weeks ago, seems to be coming along nicely and should be ready for the postseason.
Boston is playing its best basketball at the perfect time of the year. Rondo has been unworldly, Garnett has stepped his game up significantly ever since he was moved to center and Paul Pierce has silenced anyone who doubted whether or not he could still do it at the age of 34.
Philadelphia? It is on life support, and it may very well be tuning out head coach Doug Collins. If the 76ers are going to make a move, it absolutely has to be now with their next three games coming against the New Jersey Nets (twice) and Toronto.
The Sixers cannot afford to lose any of those three games, as they follow those games with the two toughest customers remaining on their schedule: the Orlando Magic (on the road) and Indiana Pacers (at home).
Forget the Atlantic Division; the 76ers should be worried about fighting off Milwaukee (who has a much tougher schedule to finish out the season).
It is very clear that Boston and Philadelphia are on opposite ends of the spectrum right now, and I can't say I'm surprised. You shouldn't, either.
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