A superb Tyrese Maxey game, an outstanding Caleb Martin game and a pretty good Joel Embiid outing earned the Sixers a statement win over the Celtics in Boston on Christmas.
Here's what I saw.
- I don't think many people would've imagined that Paul George's defense would out-pace his offense through Christmas when the Sixers first signed him this summer, but that's been the case thus far in his first season with Philadelphia. George is not the top-assignment guy he was at his apex in this league, but he's able to stay in front enough to warrant duties on one of the opposition's best slashers. If he's not doing that, he's staying ready as a helper.
His hands on drives remain active, jarring the ball loose when the offensive player leaves it exposed on drives. As strong and forceful as Jaylen Brown is, he can be caught dribbling too much if you're engaged when guarding him. George got him in the first half, preventing a defensive rotation to help and Brown from even getting a shot off.
George has also been a breath of fresh air as a help defender. The Sixers have felt his instincts on the second side of the floor, where George has routinely picked off telegraphed passes. He intercepted Tatum on a cross-court read in the first half, getting the stop and sparking the Sixers to a transition opportunity. Even when he's in the vicinity of the ball, George gets involved without straying too far from home position or completely losing his man. He's pinched in on driving lanes often this season, blowing up downhill movement and getting the Sixers to run.
- Maxey had been sitting on this day since last Christmas, when he put up an absolute stinker in a road loss to the Miami Heat. There was no such dud from him this time around. I thought the biggest factor in him leading the way for Philadelphia was screen navigation and changing paces on the fly. He wasn't going 100 miles per hour at all times. He found his intermediate speeds, slowing up to manipulate defensive positioning and then turning on the jets for the blow-by or pulling up for jumpers. With Jrue Holiday sidelined, the Celtics had no answer for him. Not only did he pull every string he wanted as a scorer, but his playmaking was tidy. 12 assists against three turnovers. Essentially pristine.
- Embiid had some rough moments late in the game, but he was a calming presence when Boston made its runs. He hit a slew of timely threes to answer Celtic runs, quieting the crowd when the Sixers were stalling and the home team was thriving. Even with the mask on his face, Embiid did a sound job of directing traffic from his spots in the short corner. He didn't lower the ball until help defenders were cleared out, careful to avoid dribbling in crowds. It forced Al Horford to have that dance on an island, and Embiid was successful because of it.
- Caleb Martin. Andrew Toney. They have something in common. Martin hit 28 percent of his threes on the season in this game alone. The thing about treating struggling shooters as if they're non-shooters is that they will eventually bite you in the ass. Boston left Martin open on the perimeter all night, and he roasted them. Seven made threes for the reborn Boston Strangler. It was the second game in a row that he looked healthy shooting the ball. More than that, he hit a barrage of them away from the corners. The range was certainly there.
- So, this was a thing that happened:
[📺 LIVE] 🏀 #NBAChristmasDay
— NBAextra (@NBAextra) December 25, 2024
😬 Petite frayeur pour Embiid qui trébuche sur une corde durant l'échauffement... pic.twitter.com/udcLXuHNKc
What will the basketball gods think of next?
- The Sixers have found a comfort level in two-man actions using their big three, which inherently means that one of them is stationed on the weak side of the floor to stretch out defensive helpers. We have not seen many three-man actions, or at least sets in which they all leverage each other to create one or multiple advantages. It is Christmas, and Embiid will ostensibly miss at least a handful of games still. So, it's certainly possible that they just run out of time to figure that out in year one of this core. But, the way they play right now doesn't feel potent enough to make real noise in a playoff series against a good team.
- Regardless of the outcome, this game was an important data point for Philadelphia because it served as a measure of where they stood relative to the very best executors in the league. That's a distinction from the "most talented" or "most cohesive". Boston has the chemistry. They have the talent. But, they kill you on the margins. They punish every slight mistake you make and every little detail you miss on defense. Execution against mistakes is what made them champions last season. So, this game, even with Holiday out and Kristaps Porzingis missing the entire second half, was a test of how far the Sixers had to go in minimizing mistakes against the best competition.
The only time this game wasn't in the Sixers' control was in the first quarter and start of the fourth quarter. Philadelphia led by 16 during the second quarter. When Boston chipped away to eventually take a four-point lead in the third quarter, it was entirely on the margins the Sixers conceded.
The mistakes they made allowed the Celtics to get whatever shot they wanted. They didn't communicate assignments in transition, letting the likes of Brown get cross-matches against guards in the paint. There were miscommunications on screens and switches, leaving Philadelphia a step below the level of the action and vulnerable to open threes. The Sixers had moments in which they couldn't match the footwork of their counterparts in isolation, allowing the ball-handler to get around their shoulders to break the first line of defense.
The Celtics punished all of it. Every single mistake. They're billed for their three-point shooting, but they have more than one path to victory.
- George shot a concert tour date in this one. Coal in the stocking.
- Boston was essentially without two starters, but you can insert the Mike Tomlin "We do not care" GIF right here. That's the Sixers' best win of the season.
The Sixers (11-17) will visit the Utah Jazz (7-21) on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m., Eastern time. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
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