PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid literally and figuratively loomed large over the Boston Celtics heading into the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs. He was sidelined for the first two games of the series rather definitively, yet there was always a chance he could return following his recovery from an appendectomy in early April. That moment finally came on Sunday night, as Embiid went from “doubtful” on the injury report to “questionable” less than an hour later and then was cleared to play 30 minutes before tipoff at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
While Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla refused to explicitly say whether or not his squad was previously preparing for Embiid’s arrival, their coordinated play in Game 4 suggests that they weren’t exactly startled. Although the 2023 league MVP started off hot with 10 points in the first quarter on 60 percent shooting, he missed 10 of his next 16 shots and finished with a dismal plus-minus rating of minus-25. The Celtics went on to dominate, 128-96, and take a 3-1 series lead behind stellar performances from star Jayson Tatum and sixth man Payton Pritchard.
Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics’ defense was good but he understands that the Sixers also just missed some shots:
“Embiid missed some shots he’ll make.”
He also spoke on their defense vs. Embiid:
“You’re not going to be able to stop him. You just have to contain him.” pic.twitter.com/CMEDdFQEcW
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) April 27, 2026
“You’re not going to be able to stop him,” Mazzulla described of Embiid. “You just have to try to contain him.”
At times, the Celtics took a laissez faire approach while guarding the Cameroon center. They’d let him square up for a long jumper or a 3-pointer because they were willing to live with the result. Those calculated risks paid off.
Embiid failed to connect on 5 of his 6 attempts from deep and shot under 50% on his tries outside of the paint but within the 3-point arc.
“You have to be able to just contain him and defend him as a team,” Mazzulla said. “He’s so effective to the point where you just got to know what you’re willing to live with, what you’re willing to take away. And you got to be ready to do that.”
The Celtics gave Embiid a few different looks defensively. Everybody from big man Nikola Vucevic to the 6-foot-1 Pritchard guarded Embiid and did their best to spoil his first playoff game in almost 2 full years.
“I thought we were physical at the point of attack,” Mazzulla stated. “And you have to be that against a team like this.”
Of course, not everything worked against the 7-footer. Embiid quickly got Celtics starting center Neemias Queta into foul trouble and still finished with a team-high 9 free throw attempts. Mazzulla also pointed out that some shooting variance was involved, and the Celtics can’t always bank on Embiid being rusty.
“I think Embiid missed some shots that he’ll make,” Mazzulla admitted.
In his first game since April 6, Embiid recorded 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. On paper, that sounds like a successful night. However, it was probably the kind of outing the Celtics were willing to accept in exchange for Sixers star Tyrese Maxey having less of an offensive impact.
After averaging around 26 attempts per game through the first three contests of this first-round series, Maxey shot the ball just 14 times in 40 minutes on Sunday. He wanted to make room for a rusty Embiid, but the speedy point guard ironically slowed down the Sixers in the process.
“Regardless of who we’re playing against, we have to have an understanding of they’re a really good team,” Mazzulla said humbly of Philly’s changing personnel. “They can beat you on any given night.”
The Celtics learned that in Game 2 when the seventh-seeded Sixers shocked them 111-97 at TD Garden. In response, the C’s took Games 3 and 4 in Philly, with the most recent win coming via a 32-point blowout.
“You can’t have an expectation of it’s supposed to go a certain way,” Mazzulla reiterated. “At the end of the day, we just have to play Celtics basketball and stick to the process of winning.”
If there’s one thing the Celtics can expect for Game 5 on Tuesday night, it’s that the 76ers will be desperate to avoid elimination. The C’s will prepare for such a play style and likely reuse their strategy of taking calculated risks with Embiid until he proves they can’t afford to do that.
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This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla on not stopping, but containing Joel Embiid