Similar to most matchups between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, things went down to the wire on Wednesday night. After getting a stop on the defensive end, the Sixers found themselves with an opportunity to steal a win in the game's final seconds.
Coming out of a timeout, Doc Rivers drew up a play that got Al Horford switched on Tobias Harris on the perimeter. Unfortunately, the Sixers weren't able to make anything happen. Harris could not get himself any space and eventually threw the ball to Georges Niang in the corner, who had his last-second heave blocked by Robert Williams. When the final buzzer sounded, Boston came out on top, 88-87.
After the game, Doc Rivers was asked his thoughts on the game's final possession. The team got the look they wanted, but ultimately came up short due to poor execution.
“I thought what we were looking for was there, honestly, we didn’t get it there, and then the execution after that wasn’t great. It’s six seconds. It’s hard to score so we didn’t score is what went wrong with us would be my answer.”
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Rivers is not wrong in his outlook regarding the play. Many were quick to criticize it in the moment, but it was run properly. The Sixers got Joel Embiid alone under the rim with a smaller defender switched on him. They just could not get the ball to him to make a play.
One thing that was puzzling about the final possession was the personnel Rivers had on the floor. Instead of having Tyrese Maxey on the floor with the rest of the starting lineup, Rivers went with Niang. He later explained this move was done to have more outside shooting.
For this particular situation, adding the extra shooter seems like a questionable decision. The Sixers were only down one. A 3-pointer was not the shot needed, nor one they should have been eyeing. Not to mention the starting point guard was subbed off the floor for a play that required someone to make an entry pass to Embiid.
Harris has proven he can close games in the past, but one might argue Maxey was a better fit for the situation. He likely could have created a similar mismatch and has the proper arsenal to make something happen if the play broke down.
Only trailing by one point, the Sixers needed to get downhill and make a play at the rim. Nobody on the roster is quicker or better at getting downhill than Maxey. Even if he couldn't have made the pass to Embiid, he could have utilized his speed to get past a slower defender in Al Horford.
Rivers did all he could to put his team in a position to steal a game against a longtime rival. In those last-second situations, sometimes things just don't unfold as hoped. It is a reality all teams have to live with.
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