Pros and Cons: Sixers vs. Celtics
Not your usual game!
Adam Aaronson, whose legal name is Sixers Adam (@SixersAdam on Twitter), covers the Sixers for The Rights To Ricky Sanchez. He believes cantaloupe is the best food in existence, and is brought to you by the Official Realtor of The Process, Adam Ksebe.
Winners of their last two contests, tonight the Sixers welcomed the red-hot Celtics to Philadelphia for their final home game before the All-Star break. You know the drill -- let’s begin.
Pro: Takeaways from the James Harden press conference
It’s hard to find a positive after the game we all just watched, but I’ve managed to pull it off.Â
Harden, Paul Millsap, Doc Rivers, Daryl Morey and Josh Harris spoke to the media today in Camden, NJ. For a Twitter thread with all of the relevant quotes and details, click here.
In a half-hearted attempt to make you feel better about the Sixers, I will say that Harden’s excitement to be with the Sixers seemed genuine, especially when Joel Embiid was brought up. Harden seems not just willing to, but in favor of, beginning to take a step back as far as ball-dominance is concerned, as he hoped to do in Brooklyn before Kevin Durant’s injury and Kyrie Irving’s… whatever you want to call it.
Harden expressed his intentions to fit in with what he believes is already a very good team, rather than having the team conform to his style.Â
Are these easy talking points that any star knows people want to hear? Probably. And we won’t know if Harden’s plans will stick until we see it.Â
Harden spoke glowingly of Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, while Morey touted the rest of their young players, including Matisse Thybulle. It’s early, I know, but so far, things are going well with this new partnership.
Con: Joel Embiid’s 25+ point game streak snapped at 23
Though it came to an end tonight, Embiid has for the last six weeks or so put on an offensive clinic that is nearly unprecedented. He has been dominant in every possible way.
Embiid’s stats over the 23-game span are as follows:
33.7 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.5 BPG, 1.0 SPG
52.6 FG%, 35.2 3P% (4.0 3PA/G), 81.8 FT% (12.0 FTA/G), 63.2 TS%, 41.4 USG%
These are outright absurd numbers. Unfortunately for Embiid, he did not have his best stuff tonight, like the rest of his teammates.
Con: Sixers’ doors blown off by Celtics
So, here’s the elephant in the room. The Sixers got absolutely incinerated by the Celtics, giving an embarrassing showing on both ends of the floor.
Boston dominated from the outset, following an excellent first quarter performance with an even better one in the second. The lead was at 27 points at halftime. After one brief Sixers run in the second quarter that was halted by a much bigger Celtics run, it was clear that the game was over.
Every team has these games -- ones where it feels like you can’t get anything to fall and the other team knocks down every look they get.
Two things can be true: (1) this performance is far from indicative of how the rest of the rest of the season will go for the Sixers, who are soon adding a superstar ball-handler to the mix, and (2) regardless, this is a brutal loss that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It was an absolutely putrid showing.