Key To Beating The Sixers: Force Them Into Long 2's

Jordan Sams of Liberty Ballers took the time to compare the Celtics defense to the Bulls. Worth a look at the whole article but the gist of it is that the Bulls are a little better at some things like rebounding, not sending teams to the free throw line, and forcing teams into taking long 2's.

Keep in mind, that was an exercise in comparing two great defenses and picking nits. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter which defense is better, just who advances.

That said, it is an interesting critique. I'm not sure we can do much about the first two items, but the Celtics defense does seem to have the capability of creating long 2 point shots when it is humming at top capacity.

Celtics Defense Vs. Bulls Defense: Comparing The Two, Finding Flaws

As previously detailed, the Celtics have more flaws than the Bulls, defensively. The Sixers are going to need to do two things offensively, besides "run" as much as possible. The first is, take care of business on the glass. They were man-handled by the Bulls on the boards in game six's victory, but the Bulls are a much better rebounding team than the Celtics. The second: avoid the long two-pointer, like the plague. The Sixers long two dilemma has been beaten to death this season. As you know by now, the Sixers attempted the second most long twos (24.5) during the regular season.

Sounds like a habit the Celtics would like to encourage.