On Tuesday evening, it was announced that Philadelphia's Joel Embiid had been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player for the 2022-23 season, which should have made the Boston Celtics feel even worse in theory. Losing Game 1 to a playoff opponent who was missing their best player was already a tough pill to swallow. However, the following day, it was revealed that the Celtics had avoided facing the league's MVP, yet still lost. It's rare for a team to have such an opportunity to take control of a best-of-seven series, especially when they're already favored, playing at home, deeper, and more experienced. On top of that, they were relieved of the challenge of dealing with the Sixers' 7-foot, 280-pound two-way threat, only to end up falling flat on their face.