Majulla explains Celtics' interesting lineup change for Game 6 originally appeared nbc sports boston
You want adjustments? Joe Majulla Will give you the adjustments.
Boston Celtics are planning to start robert williams In place of Derrick White to win game 6 against the 76ers on Thursday night in Philadelphia, Mazzulla confirmed in his pregame press conference. The Athletic's Jared Weiss and Shams Charania First reported lineup changes.
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This means the Celtics will return to the “double big” lineup they used during their run to the 2022 NBA Finals with williams and with Al Horford in the frontcourt Marcus Smart, jaylen brown and Jason Tatum.
“Just gives us a different look,” Majulla told reporters ahead of Game 6.
“… just his presence on the rim, his ability to guard the perimeter and get rebounds and screens for us, I think he's been really good all year, and that's what we're expecting from him tonight.”
Boston found significant success with the Williams/Horford pairing during the regular season, but the pair struggled during their brief time on the court in this series, noted our Chris Forsberg.
Still, the double big lineup will allow Williams to match up with Sixers forward PJ Tucker and serve more as a shot-blocking rover on the back line, while Horford attempts to contain Joel Embiid and Brown match up on James Harden. .
In another interesting development, Weiss and Charnia reported that backup guard Peyton Pritchard is “expected to get more opportunities” in Game 6. Pritchard's first minutes of the series came in Game 5, when he scored eight points in nine minutes in the second half. The Celtics are already trailing by two points.
Whether or not these shifts pay off for Boston remains to be seen, but it looks like Majulla is attempting to press a few different buttons with his team's back against the wall.
nbc sports Boston's Game 6 coverage will begin at 6:30 PM ET with “Celtics Pregame live” at 7:30 PM ET from the Wells Fargo Center.