‘We’re good’: Doc Rivers hopes 76ers can capitalize on wide-open shots in Game 7 vs. Celtics
Philadelphia struggled on its wide-open looks in Game 6, making 6-of-26 such shots.
When the Celtics inserted Robert Williams in the starting lineup for Game 6, part of the idea was for him to play as a help defender and sag off 76ers forward P.J. Tucker and others.
The Celtics successfully executed the plan, winning 95-86 as the 76ers shot just 36.1 percent from the field and 23.5 percent from deep. But they got some help from the 76ers, too. Philadelphia shot just 6-of-26 on wide-open shots, which are classified by the nearest defender being at least six feet away from the shooter, per NBA stats.
76ers coach Doc Rivers remarked to reporters Saturday that Game 6 was “probably our highest shot quality of the year.”
In the 76ers’ final practice ahead of Sunday’s Game 7, Rivers emphasized making those open shots.
“The first film [clip] today was — I don’t know how long it took — 45 seconds of missed shots with no sound, nobody talking. And I just showed it. I didn’t say a word, I just showed it,” Rivers told reporters.
“And then I turned it off and everybody was like, ‘Holy goodness.’ … And so I finally turned around and I said, ‘What do you guys see?’ And they were like, ‘We’re good.’ That was the first thing that someone said: ‘We’re good.’”
Philadelphia had better success when shooting on wide-open shots earlier in the series. Through the first six games of the series, the 76ers have made 37.4 percent of their wide-open shots. The vast majority of those wide-open shots have come from 3-point territory, as they’re averaging 16.7 wide-open 3-point shots per game to just 1.2 wide-open 2-point shots per game.
The two players who’ve had the most wide-open shots in the series for the 76ers are Tyrese Maxey and Tucker. Maxey hasn’t done too well in punishing the Celtics for leaving him wide-open over the course of the series, making just 36.4 percent of 3.7 wide-open field goal attempts per game.
Tucker, on the other hand, has done better. He’s made 44.4 percent of the three wide-open field goals he’s taken per game in the series, which have all been 3-pointers.
But in Game 6, Tucker made just two of the seven wide-open shots he took. That allowed the Celtics to get away with leaving him open in the corner as they used Williams to help double Joel Embiid and clog the lane.
That’s probably why Tucker posted on Instagram after midnight on Sunday of him at TD Garden, presumably taking shots.
Game 7 and the Celtics’ season could very well come down to making wide-open shots or not. On the flip side of things, the Celtics haven’t shot too well on their wide-open looks in this series. They’ve made just 35.5 percent of their 17.8 wide-open attempts per game.
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