How 76ers Player Expects Celtics To Respond To Game 2 Loss originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Celtics must turn the page from a Game 2 dud to reclaim a series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia evened the first-round matchup with a 111-97 road upset on Tuesday. Perimeter shooting betrayed the Celtics, who made 13 of 50 attempts from three-point range while the 76ers went 19-of-39 from downtown.
Prior to Friday's Game 3, per CLNS Media Boston Sports Network, Quentin Grimes acknowledged that the Celtics didn't play to their standards on Tuesday. The 76ers guard expects a hungry opponent at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
"We know they didn't play as well as they usually played all season," Grimes said. "Guys didn't make shots. We also played well ourselves, so you got to be conscious and know that they're gonna make adjustments, and we have to be ready for those counters as well."
Grimes doesn't anticipate the Celtics changing their approach after getting burned by threes. If anything, he expects Joe Mazzulla's squad to be even more aggressive, so the 76ers are preparing to closely guard the perimeter.
"We know that's their bread and butter over there. They give up a lot of threes. They make a lot of threes as well, so we got to be constant in running them off the line," Grimes said. "Like I said, those guys didn't shoot as well in Game 2, so we have to be cognizant in knowing they're gonna come out firing even more, probably, this game."
Only three teams attempted more threes than Boston's 42.7 per game during the regular season. While that philosophy can occasionally backfire when the offense goes cold, the Celtics finished second in offensive rating and third in threes made (15.5).
Shooting early and often helped the Celtics make the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed, so they're not likely to stop after one loss. Friday's game starts at 7 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
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