Game 4 looked very much like Game 3, until the Sixers made a furious comeback in the 4th quarter to take Game 4 and tie the series at 2. Game 5 now shifts back to Boston, where the winner of this game will have a chance to go on to the Eastern Conference Finals in Game 6. The Celtics are going to come out in this game the same exact way they did in Game 2 when we were down 9-0 early. They will come out and try to go on this big run and play tough defense in the beginning of the game, and Doug Collins knows that as well so I believe that he will calm his guys down like he has done all season long.

X-Factor: Andre Iguodala

Andre Iguodala was the key to the Sixers wins in Games 2 and 4 by hitting clutch shots, and was also the key to the loss in Game 3 by shooting just 6 times and allowing Paul Pierce to finally have a big game. Tonight he will need to continue to be this teams leader both offensively and defensively. Andre will need to be very efficient on offense the way he has been for most of the playoffs, and he will need to lock up Paul Pierce and make him have games like he did in Games 1 and 2. Andre will need to get the ball right away after a rebound and just push the basketball and not allow Boston to set up their defense like they did at the end of Game 4. If Andre can score about 18 points, efficiently, and can hold Pierce to a bad shooting day then I believe the Sixers have the advantage in Boston.

Key Match-up: Sixers Transition Offense vs. Boston Defense

It is no secret, when the Sixers get out and run they put the Celtics in a position that they don’t want to be in. The Celtics are only good when they are able to slow the game down and play at their pace, and the Sixers can not allow that to happen. Now when I say transition offense some people might think that I mean run a fast break every time. I don’t. What I mean is getting a rebound and push the basketball up the floor so that the Celtics won’t be able to have a set defense. By not having a defense set up and keeping the pressure on, you might have mismatches, you might be able to draw fouls, and your chance for an easy bucket increases greatly against a team like Boston. Now does that mean that I don’t want to see the Sixers run a fast break every chance they get? Of course not, in fact I want to see them run a fast break whenever they can. If the Sixers can get close to 20 points on the fast break, they will give themselves a great chance to win this game (and any game against Boston). If the Sixers get 15+ fast break points they will be fine, if they score 10 or less than the advantage is with Boston.

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Tags: Andre Iguodala, Celtics, Game 5, playoffs, Sam Shipley, Sixers