The Boston Celtics find themselves on the ropes heading into Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Philadelphia 76ers. Down 3-2 in the series, and heading back to Philadelphia for a do-or-die game, things aren't looking great for the Celtics. But anything can happen in the NBA, so with that in mind, it makes sense to take a look at our Boston Celtics Game 6 predictions.

The Celtics have nobody but themselves to blame for their current predicament, as they threw away winnable games in their first two losses of the series, before playing easily their worst game of the playoffs in Game 5. Boston probably could have already won this series had they not played with their food, but instead, they are going to have to fight for their life in Game 6.

Still, this Celtics team is extremely talented, and if they can win Game 6, they would return to the comforts of TD Garden for a deciding Game 7. So with the biggest game of Boston's season right around the corner, let's dive into our bold predictions and see what could end up happening in this contest.

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3. Al Horford shoot 4/8 from behind the arc for the Celtics

While nobody played particularly well for the Celtics in Game 5, Al Horford was probably the guy most deserving of blame for the team's loss. Horford missed all seven of his shots, with all them being three-point attempts, while allowing Joel Embiid to drop 33 points to lead Philly to victory. Horford is such a big piece of Boston's game plan that outings like this are simply unacceptable.

Horford is going to have to be better in Game 6 for the C's. When the veteran center is knocking down his threes, it forces Embiid to come out and guard him at the perimeter, opening up the paint for other scorers, or even allowing other scorers to force Embiid and his balky knee to switch onto them and try to play perimeter defense.

As you can tell from his 0-7 shooting, Horford didn't do that in Boston's latest loss, and it allowed Embiid to sit in the paint and rack up four more blocks on the Celtics. Horford is only one game removed from shooting 5-7 behind the arc in Game 4, and in a must-win game for the C's, Horford will make a bigger mark on the game, hitting four of his eight threes to help jumpstart his team's offense.

2. Jayson Tatum will score 15 first quarter points for the Celtics

A common denominator in both of the Celtics most recent losses has been slow starts from Jayson Tatum. Tatum scored just two points in the first half of Game 4, and missed seven of his first eight shots in Game 5. Unsurprisingly, Boston fell behind early in both of these games, and was forced to play catch-up the rest of the way out.

Tatum ultimately was able to turn in solid outings in both of these games thanks to some strong second-half performances, but Boston cannot afford to fall into a big hole against the Sixers in this do-or-die game. Tatum will have to get going early on in a way that he has been unable to in the past two games.

Given how big of an impact Tatum had in the Celtics Game 6 over the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year when he dropped 46 points, he absolutely has to be at the top of his game throughout this one. With P.J. Tucker primarily guarding Jaylen Brown now, expect Tatum to be aggressive in seeking out his shot, which will result in a big 15-point first quarter.

1. The Celtics will lose 121-117 to the Sixers, ending their season

Well, you wanted bold, so here you go. Despite the fact that a loss ends Boston's season, it doesn't seem like anyone is really panicking. Make of that what you will, but this doesn't feel like a situation that the Celtics have the ability to make it back from. They can play such great basketball when they want to, but they have been playing well below their standard throughout the playoffs to this point.

Everyone likes to reference the Celtics Game 6 win over the Bucks from last year (heck, I just did it myself) but Boston was playing much better basketball throughout this series. The C's two wins over Philly in this series have been fairly convincing, but their losses are largely the result of them throwing games away, rather than the Sixers doing something extraordinary to win.

Even if the Celtics get going on offense, the problem is that the Sixers just had their best offensive outing of the series. Embiid, James Harden, and Tyrese Maxey all are clicking right now, and while Boston has the defensive capabilities to stop them, they will come up short. By the time the final buzzer sounds, the Celtics will find themselves on the wrong side of a 121-117 result, sending them into what could be a painful offseason.