Game 7 in Boston will decide who faces the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals. Here are three keys to victory for the Washington Wizards.
The Washington Wizards used a dagger three-pointer from point guard John Wall to get a 92-91 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 6. The Wizards became the first team in the 2017 NBA Playoffs to win at home when facing elimination, making the record now 1-10.
The Celtics looked like they had things taken care of down the stretch but big shots by Wall and Bradley Beal showed there’s still some fight left in these Wizards. Beal had a game-high 33 points and five assists in Game 6.
However, the Wizards had just eight fastbreak points. Forward Otto Porter went scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting. Center Marcin Gortat had four points on 2-of-3 shooting but also had 13 rebounds (four offensive) and two assists.
Gortat will be needed in Game 7 and Washington can definitely afford to get him involved in the offense more. Having Wall and Beal at the guard positions, they certainly can use it to their advantage by getting the ball in the paint a whole lot more. Washington outscored the Celtics 48-26 in the points in the paint department in Game 6.
The Washington Wizards will need to play with a lot of focus in their Game 7 road matchup with the Celtics. Here are three keys to victory in the Monday night elimination game.