They blew a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history. Three of their starters finished with zero points, the first time any playoff team had achieved that particular distinction since starters were first tracked in 1970-71. And in the final five minutes, with a season on the line, they attempted nine consecutive three-pointers and missed every single one. If you are the father of one of the players who started Game 7, the only reasonable response is to go online and ask the basketball world for an explanation.

That is exactly what Chicago Bulls legend Ron Harper did. As the Boston Celtics fired brick after brick from beyond the arc in the closing minutes of a 109-100 Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, Harper, father of Celtics guard Ron Harper Jr., posted his verdict on X: “I love basketball can someone explain to me the last 5 mins of @celtics and @76ers game? Boston down by 1 & 3 and keep shooting 3s…. Please help me.” The tweet landed in real time, as TD Garden watched its defending-adjacent championship contender dismantle itself shot selection by shot selection in the most important game of its season.

The specific sequence Harper was reacting to began with Jaylen Brown’s 13-foot pull jumper at the 5:02 mark, which brought the Boston Celtics within one. What followed was nine consecutive missed threes, not a two-for-one attempt, not an and-one drive, not a single effort to attack the rim with the season slipping away. The Celtics shot 2-for-13 from the field in the final five minutes and were outscored 12-6 by Philadelphia down the stretch. The irony is that the numbers were entirely predictable: Boston had shot less than 30% from three in each of their previous three losses in this series and finished Game 7 at 13-for-49, 27% from deep. Teams have attempted 49 or more threes in a playoff game 37 times in NBA history. Three of those times were the Celtics across this single series. They were 1-2 in those games. Asked about the strategy postgame, Joe Mazzulla offered a response that will define his offseason: “I love the looks that we got. I love the process that we had. Hate the result.”

Ron Harper Sr.‘s frustration was also timed to something personal. His son had been thrust into the starting lineup for Game 7 as one of three late replacements for the injured Jayson Tatum, a group that also included Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman, none of whom had started together once across the entire season. Ron Harper Jr. logged just 4:02 of action before being replaced by Payton Pritchard and never returning. Harper Jr., Garza, and Scheierman combined to shoot 0-for-7 and finished with zero points apiece. The father’s tweet, in that context, is not simply a fan’s lament; it is a front-row witness asking why his son’s team refused to adjust the plan while the result was still salvageable.

What Mazzulla’s Post-Game Defence Reveals About the Celtics’ Identity Problem

Mazzulla’s postgame remarks were as revealing as the box score. “I thought there was a couple things we saw tactically that we wanted to test out,” he said when asked about the Game 7 starting lineup. “Give the series kind of a different feel, and take advantage of the roster that we have.” The Boston Celtics fell behind 9-0 before a single rotation player scored. They trailed 32-19 after the first quarter. Boston blew a 3-1 series lead they had held as recently as five days ago, and when the moment arrived for pragmatism to override philosophy, the coach doubled down on the philosophy instead. Ron Harper Sr. is a five-time NBA champion who spent 15 seasons reading defences and making adjustments on the fly. His question, “can someone explain?” was rhetorical. He knew exactly what he was watching.

The Sixers, to their credit, were anticipating Boston’s tendencies. Prior to tip-off, Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse stated that his team had studied the Celtics’ three-heavy habits from previous series losses and had prepared accordingly. Joel Embiid recorded 34 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, while V.J. Edgecombe scored 23 points and Tyrese Maxey added 30, giving the team three players in double figures. For a team that won a championship two years ago and finished the regular season 56-26 as the Eastern Conference’s second seed, the first-round exit will dominate Boston’s summer. Ron Harper Sr. has already started the conversation, using only 22 words.