PHILADELPHIA — The Celticslost a few of their options to guard Joel Embiid this offseason when Grant Williams, Marcus Smart and Robert Williams all departed. With Boston starting a defensively overmatched Kristaps Porzingis at center in the offense-first lineup with Derrick White back in the fold, Joe Mazzulla put Jrue Holiday on the big man for a large chunk of the game. The move may have come as a bit of a surprise for fans but one player was ready for the chess move out of the gate: Embiid.
“I was expecting it,” Embiid said. “I thought we didn’t do a good job of reacting to it. All they were basically doing was, you know, trying to front me. I thought there was so many times we could have had a high low. We just didn’t react quick enough to make it happen. So that’s an adjustment for the next few games.
“Whoever does it, I’m sure they’re going to do it again. Sometimes they were just coming right away and I thought we didn’t move the ball fast enough. We didn’t attack. We just kept getting stuck finding passes instead of just attacking and creating a shot for everybody else. But I thought they did a pretty good job. They were fronting and they had one guy, whether it was Kristaps or Al just coming baseline, just doubling. We’re gonna watch the film and get better.”
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Embiid shook off a slow start to finish with a team-high 27 points and 10 rebounds but did have six turnovers. Ultimately, the attention the Celtics had to pay through the night with double teams with their unorthodox matchups helped Embiid’s supporting cast get going. Three other Sixers finished in double figures despite a poor shooting night from 3-point range for the team (26 percent).
“We got a long way to go, but we’re on the right path,” Embiid said. “There’s so many things I could’ve been better today. Taking care of the ball, missed quite a few shots, Tyrese, he missed a lot of shots that he’s been making. We were not as efficient as we’ve been, but it happens. But then again, I also like the effort and the intensity defensively, just being together, following the game plan. The game plan was key and I thought for the most part, we followed it and we executed it, good adjustments, and just playing together.”
With Horford struggling with his shot at age 37 this year, Boston’s long-time remedy to contain the big man may be fading with time. The Celtics will need to get better offensively to cover up their defensive decencies against the defending MVP going forward if they elect to stick with smalls lineups against the seven-footer.
“It’s as tough as it is every year,” Jayson Tatum said of the matchup. “He’s a hell of a player and, he always gonna make it tough on you and, you know, it’s our job to guard him as a unit, as a team, push out catches and, you know, he just can’t be comfortable. He’s going to make some shots but, you know, we just gotta keep defending him as a group.”
The Celtics get a rematch against Embiid next Wednesday night at Well Fargo Center.
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