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I play in a basketball league and our championship game is tonight. Like most men’s basketball leagues or recreational leagues, the playoffs are not a series. This is a single game, do or die situations. The NBA doesn’t have this (no major sport has one besides football), but it gives us an opportunity to see who the better team really is – not just a potentially luckier team. Maybe we’ll get an answer tonight if the Celtics or 76ers are the better team in Game 6 of this series.
Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid tackles Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu in the third quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 30, 2025. (Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)
The Celtics have had a strong performance this season, despite many questions surrounding the team. Two years after winning the NBA championship, the team lost Jayson Tatum to injury. They traded Jrue Holiday, a guy who provided veteran leadership, solid outside shooting and excellent defense. Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t part of the championship team, but he was one of the main reasons they were supposed to repeat. Without him, the Celtics lost 60% of their starting lineup this year.
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They ended up with the second seed and a 56-26 record behind Jaylen Brown and a bench restructuring. In the first four games of the series, Boston looked great. They lost a game because VJ Edgecombe took over and looked dominant for Philly. Outside of this game, Boston was great…until Tuesday, where they were dominated on both sides of the ball. In their two defeats, they only scored 97 points. To make matters worse, they allowed 111 or more.
Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on March 6, 2026. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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The Philadelphia 76ers have to be one of the most frustrating teams in the entire league. If you’re a fan, you just have to pray that the team finds a way to be healthy. Joel Embiid may be the most unreliable superstar in sports. The worst part is you’re not going to find someone to replace Embiid’s production if he’s healthy. So the 76ers are basically hamstrung by his health. They surrounded him with talent, but they couldn’t find a combination that would even get them to the NBA Finals.
They still have a chip and a chair tonight because they need to win the next two games. In two of their defeats, they were totally dominated. The Celtics won two of the games by more than 30 points. In the 76ers’ two victories, they won by more than 14 points. There was only one close match between the two teams. Game 3 saw the 76ers lose 108-100, but it was the only game in the series not to be decided by double digits.
Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George talks with guards Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe during a break in the third quarter against the Orlando Magic in the play-in round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
In tonight’s game, the 76ers have already promised to put in a better performance than the last time they played in front of the Philly faithful. In Game 4, the last time they were in Philadelphia, they lost the game by 32 points. They didn’t even win a single quarter. Tatum, Brown and Payton Pritchard combined to score 82 points, just 14 fewer than the 76ers as a team. Embiid should be back for this one, and that makes a major difference for the 76ers. This makes it a much more consistent series. He was great in Game 5 and I expect him to be solid tonight.
It takes time to get back into shape, but Embiid should be there now that it will be his third game. This is the 76ers’ major mismatch, and I expect them to exploit it. I like the idea of taking the 76ers at +5.5, but they consistently prove to disappoint people. I’ll take Embiid at 27.5 points. He had 26 when he came back and 33 the other night. I would also expect 30 this evening.
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