Brian Scalabrine, Eddie House on Celtics' Game 5 loss: 'Zero resistance' vs. Sixers
Scal, Eddie House react to Game 5 loss: 'Zero resistance' from C's originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics are on the brink of elimination after Tuesday night's devastating Game 5 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
A lackluster performance on both ends resulted in a 115-103 defeat in front of the TD Garden crowd. The C's shot 39.8 percent from the floor (31.6 percent from 3) while the Sixers converted 50.6 percent of their field goal attempts (40.3 percent from 3).
Celtics Talk POSTGAME POD: Celtics pushed to brink of elimination after Game 5 loss to Sixers | Listen & Subscribe
Our Brian Scalabrine and Eddie House shared their instant reactions to the loss on Celtics Postgame Live.
"If you're not gonna guard, you're not gonna get into the ball, you're not gonna impact the ball. If you're not doing that across the board -- they were playing that, 'Hey, it's a make-miss league. Live by the three, die by the three.' That's not gonna work," Scalabrine said. "Especially when (the Sixers) have a guy like Joel Embiid who gets so much attention you have to double-team him. Philly, just like Game 1, very, very comfortable in this building."
House shared a similar sentiment, specifically noting Boston's defensive woes while crediting the Sixers for looking like the superior team.
"You don't guard and when you guard, you foul," House said. "You send them to the free-throw line, they shoot 85 percent from the free-throw line. They shoot 40 percent from 3. They shoot 50 percent from the field. I mean, that's all we need to know. That lets you know there was zero resistance. There was zero effect on the defensive end toward the Philadelphia 76ers. They had their way. ...
"There was nothing we could do. There was no resistance. Then offensively, we looked stagnant. They looked like the better basketball team from top to bottom. ... To me, it was just an all-around ass-kicking."
Now down 3-2 in the series, the Celtics will fight to keep their season alive Thursday night in Philadelphia. They will look to repeat their efforts from last season when they beat the Milwaukee Bucks on the road in Game 6 and closed out the Eastern Conference Semifinals series in Boston.
You can watch the full "Celtics Postgame Live" segment below.
