Through the first four games of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers' hard-fought series, the Celtics have looked like the more dominant team. Sure, the Celtics may have lost as many games as they have won, which is what matters in the grand scheme of things, but they have dominated the Sixers in those two victories, while Philly just eked out two wins thanks to James Harden's cold-blooded shot-making in the clutch.

Thus, entering Game 5, it sure seemed like the Celtics would come back with a vengeance, as they have a golden opportunity in front of them to take a 3-2 series lead in front of their home crowd. And to begin Game 5, it sure seemed like the Celtics were in a good rhythm, knocking down open threes to ignite the sold out TD Garden faithful.

However, they simply could not keep pace with Joel Embiid and a locked-in Tyrese Maxey, as they fell off in the middle of the first quarter and they proceeded to carry over that lethargic display into the following period, going down by as many as 12 in the second as the Sixers went off to build a rhythm that the Celtics simply couldn't shake them out of.

And then in the second half, instead of coming out of the gates hot, the Celtics' lethargy proceeded to grow worse, as the Sixers' lead grew to 16 entering the fourth quarter, proving to be an insurmountable deficit for a lifeless Celtics squad.

As I always try to say in these sorts of blame pieces, it's unfair to pin this kind of loss on the shoulders of just one man. A team that loses a basketball game loses as a team, after all. But the responsibility of the defeat falls more squarely on the shoulders of these three players, given the huge role they must play in vanquishing the Sixers.

These three players are the ones who must shoulder the most blame for the Celtics' inexcusable Game 5 performance against the Sixers.

Jayson Tatum

At first glance, it certainly looked like Jayson Tatum had a stellar showing. Tatum finished with 36 points, leading the way for a Celtics squad that didn't look like they had any inspiration going into the contest. However, in this instance, it's extremely important to note when Tatum got his points, not exactly how many he ended up with.

Tatum struggled in the first half, and when the Celtics needed him to keep up with the Sixers, he wasn't quite the efficient, steadying force that they needed. He scored just six points in the first half, and he did so on a poor 3-10 shooting from the field.

Given the responsibility on Jayson Tatum's shoulders, this kind of performance in what essentially should be a game that the Celtics should have won, it's fair to pin this loss on his shoulders. Scoring 30 points in the second half is certainly laudable, but Tatum was responsible for not setting the right tone after missing his first six shots of the game.

Tatum has it in him to put up a strong bounce-back performance, and hopefully for the Celtics, their best player sequences his scoring in a much better manner to help them stave elimination.

Jaylen Brown

Much like Tatum, Jaylen Brown looked like he had a solid outing in Game 5 against the Sixers. But the eye test showed that Brown was merely a passenger in that loss. He didn't look engaged at all, and as the Celtics' second-best player, the responsibility to take control when your best player is struggling falls on his shoulders.

Sure, PJ Tucker's defense proved to be difficult to overcome for Brown, but given his talent level, nine shot attempts through the first three quarters is an excusable level of passiveness for a team with hopes of winning a championship.

For the Celtics to overcome the Sixers, Jaylen Brown needs to take on a more featured role in the offense, especially in the clutch, where he has been efficient thus far in this playoff run.

Al Horford

Al Horford received his well-deserved flowers when he laughed in the face of a reporter who thought that the idea of him being an elite shooter was a laughable one. Horford, after all, has fashioned himself into one of the best shooters in the association. But in Game 4, Horford looked like the early career version of himself who couldn't quite shoot from beyond the arc (or more accurately, didn't choose to).

Horford went 0-7 from deep, which allowed the Sixers to crowd the paint or, less enticingly, forced the Celtics to go small in an effort to grease the wheels on offense.

Horford cannot afford to fire blanks from deep yet again, lest the Celtics suffer a premature end to their season.