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Joel Embiid did not join the Sixers for their last road trip due to pain in his right knee. He was back for Wednesday’s game against the Celtics at Wells Fargo Center, and the Sixers were sure to be delighted with his availability.
Embiid led the Sixers to a 117-109 victory, scoring 42 points on 19 field goal attempts, grabbing 10 rebounds and helping the team go to 10-5 with another MVP-level performance.
Seth Curry approved NBA health and safety protocols but did not play Wednesday as he regains his conditioning after testing positive for COVID-19 on January 7. All players who test positive for COVID-19 are not allowed to exercise for at least 10 days, according to league protocols. Celtics star Jayson Tatum may be able to return for this mini-series finale on Friday as he progressed after testing positive for COVID-19.
Here are some observations on the Sixers’ win on Wednesday:
Embiid too much to handle
Embiid looked sharp, healthy, and impossible to defend effectively.
The Sixers were successful early on using him in the left elbow area and pick-and-pops at the top of the key, places more difficult for the Celtics to pass him than on the low block.
It’s been a trend recently with Embiid, and he’s enjoyed being able to perform in a variety of places.
“It’s hard to keep,” he said. “The teams, they overtake me and treble again – even more this year. Every year they keep doing the same things and it gets harder if I have to catch the ball on the block every time. It’s an easy place. I have been working on my game to expand it, and not just play like a big man – also play as a guard, being able to dribble in traffic and shoot fadeaways or pull-up jumpers.
“Playing outside of ‘Delay’ actions is good for me, because how are you going to double that? It is difficult to double from midfield, and if you do double, we have way too many good shooters to go around. me to kick him out, and (they) will succeed. So there is a lot of freedom. I can be myself in this attack. … especially if I know that they are teaming doubles or triples, I can attack in a different style. I just take advantage of it. “
Boston certainly didn’t bother the two-time Embiid team, and the Sixers were also perfectly happy to post it. There was a great streak for the Sixers in the second quarter as Embiid won the position near the left block, drew in help and made a single pass, and finally saw Shake Milton sink a three of l. other side of the floor. A cross-court assist to Danny Green in the third quarter was another pass highlight from Embiid who has shown his talent this season to perform basic and sophisticated reads from the message.
“I love the way he played tonight, because he kind of dropped 40 (points),” said head coach Doc Rivers. “It’s hard to do. But every time they made a double team he would pass. Every time they didn’t he attacked. I thought very early on they wanted to double it. ‘team, and we got those two-three of his assists. They came out of it, he starts scoring, they double again and we get three more. I (think) that kind of balance on the part of your team is good, and I like him to have confidence in that.
Embiid is an elite at creating free throws and showed it against another opponent not equipped to stop him, at 17 of 21. This skill was especially important when the Sixers suffered a prolonged drought in the second quarter with no field goal. ground. Embiid’s health is paramount to the Sixers, and the team’s 0-3 record without him this season isn’t necessary to illustrate that obvious fact. That said, give Dwight Howard credit for being a nuisance to the Celtics and registering six offensive rebounds.
According to Embiid, the veteran big man also had an impact on the ground.
“… Dwight, despite what you (have heard) about him in the past – when he came on the team, I never could have thought that everything I heard was true,” said Embiid. “He’s a great teammate, probably one of the best I’ve ever had – always great energy, always smiling, uplifting for everyone.”
Unlike Embiid, Ben Simmons’ score could once again be called modest. The 24-year-old did not make a basket before a steal on Jeff Teague and a transition slam that followed early in the third period. He picked up his fifth foul late in the third quarter and finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.
While Simmons attacked the rim well on several occasions when he sensed an opening and shot 7 for 10 from the foul line, a 17-point outing on Jan.6 against the Wizards is still his season record. Simmons obviously helps in so many ways besides scoring and should benefit when Curry returns.
Rivers recognized the value of Simmons’ versatile and high-level defense in this game and appreciated that he maintained his aggression while playing with five fouls at the end of the fourth period.
“I thought Ben was amazing – defensively, first of all,” Rivers said. “We put him on Kemba (Walker) tonight, we put him on Jaylen Brown tonight, we put him on Marcus Smart. It’s amazing what he can do for us, and tonight was a prime example.
Tobias Harris (22 of 9 for 17 points) provided the offensive momentum needed at key moments, scoring seven straight points when the Sixers fell behind 12-4 and helping the team regain the lead early in the fourth quarter in a formation with four bench players.
Korkmaz’s return and the impact on the Sixers bench
Furkan Korkmaz returned on Wednesday after missing more than three weeks with a left adductor strain, posting seven points in 19 minutes, including an elegant reverse dunk. Isaiah Joe was the Strange Man as Milton, Howard, Matisse Thybulle, and Korkmaz were the only Second Unit Sixers to appear.
When asked about Joe before the game, Rivers noted that he wasn’t the Sixers’ only shooter.
“He’s a guy who can shoot, but Shake too, Furkan too, Danny Green too, Seth Curry too,” Rivers said. “He’s just in a line of guys that we have. It is a great luxury. It’s a great luxury to have a guy who can step off the bench and hit. You know what else? I thought he was showing himself to be a solid defender as well, which will help to move forward.
Since playing 45 minutes for the seven-man Sixers on Jan. 9, Joe has shot 17 of 39 (43.6 percent) at three points. We’re guessing he’ll have another chance soon enough, whether it comes from another player’s injury or Rivers’ decision at some point to split his minutes with Korkmaz or Thybulle. As Rivers mentioned, the rookie winger has seemed savvy and proud on the defensive end, qualities that should strengthen his case for playing even if his jumper doesn’t fall.
A defensive question
Tyrese Maxey drew the initial mission on Walker. The rookie didn’t have an auspicious start as Walker, in his second game after missing the start of this season with a left knee injury, drained two leading three-pointers. Thybulle bothered Walker a bit in the second quarter with his length, consistent activity, and disruptive recoil contests, but Walker managed to make two more long-range jumpers.
The Sixers were fortunate that Walker (19 points) only played 22 minutes because of Boston’s plan to put him back into action, and calmed down, shooting 1 for 7 after half-time.
While the Sixers didn’t back their big men back against Walker, they were also unwilling to regularly blitz him or force the ball out of the hands of the four-time All-Star. In a future playoff series, would they play a more aggressive pick-and-roll defense against him? We won’t be getting that question answered anytime soon, although we’ll be watching for tweaks in this miniseries finale.
In terms of holistic defensive effort, Rivers enjoyed seeing the Sixers hold Boston to 17 points and shoot 1 for 9 to three points in the fourth quarter.
“I thought the starters were coming defensively, we got them out of the three, we pushed them inside the three-point line, but we didn’t give them easy two,” he said. hands on the ball. It was a really (well played) and hard played game by both teams.
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