Philadelphia 76ers Center Joel Embiid Helps Team Overcome Boston Celtics To Advance In NBA Playoffs
For three games, this series looked like it was headed toward the usual polite Boston ending: the Celtics in control, the 76ers frustrated, and Joel Embiid stuck watching too much of it from the side. Then Embiid came back, and the whole thing changed.
That is the Celtics’ own explanation. After Philadelphia stormed back from a 3-1 deficit and finished off Boston 109-100 in Game 7, Celtics Head Coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t dance around it. He said the turning point was simple: Embiid returned, and the 76ers became a completely different team. Boston big man Neemias Queta echoed the same thought, saying the Sixers just look better with him on the floor.
Embiid Changed Everything for the 76ers
Across his four games in the series, Embiid averaged 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists. In two of those games, he scored more than 30. In Game 7, he delivered 34 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists while helping Philadelphia complete one of the more dramatic comebacks in franchise history. More importantly, he gave the Sixers their identity back.
With him, Philadelphia had a center who could punish single coverage, draw doubles, control the glass, and force Boston to think before launching another three. Without him, the Sixers were scrappy. With him, they were dangerous.
The Celtics Said the Quiet Part Out Loud
Sometimes the cleanest analysis comes from the losing locker room. Mazzulla flat-out said the series changed when Embiid returned. Queta called the Sixers “a totally different team” with him. That matters because it confirms what everyone watching could feel in real time: Boston never really solved the Embiid problem.
Embiid Delivered the Biggest Win Of His Career
The Sixers had not beaten the Celtics in a playoff series since 1982. Embiid had heard every criticism imaginable over the years, some fair, some wildly dramatic, all very loud. He had also been 0-3 in Game 7s before this one. Add in the fact that he returned after an appendectomy and played through pain, and the emotional weight of this game starts to come into focus.
After the win, Embiid didn’t sound like a guy planning a week-long celebration. He said he had until midnight to enjoy it, and after that, the focus shifted to New York. That is a star talking like someone who knows one breakthrough does not erase everything, but it sure beats carrying the same old burden.
What Embiid Means for the Knicks Series
Now comes the next problem: the Knicks. Embiid already made a public plea to Philadelphia fans not to let their arena turn into “Madison Square Garden East,” which tells you two things. First, he knows Knicks fans travel. Second, he is already mentally in the next round.
That series will be a different kind of fight. The Knicks bring size, physicality, and a frontcourt built to make every possession feel like unpaid labor. But if Embiid is on the floor, the Sixers have a chance. That much is obvious now.
This first-round comeback reminded everyone of the central truth around Philadelphia basketball: when he is available and engaged, the ceiling changes. The math changes. The mood changes. The opponent’s confidence changes.
For More Great Content
Find Justin on X: https://x.com/jrimp803 and LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-rimpi-11502014a/
