In a game jampacked with action for the Celtics against a division rival, there was a lot of ground to cover. Let's sort through some meaningful observations and reactions as the C's dropped their first home game of the season to the 76ers
1. The Celtics' centers actually matched Joel Embiid’s production, but don’t expect that to happen again: The Celtics knew going into this season that they didn’t have an answer for Joel Embiid in the middle, at least in 1-on-1 situations. That proved to be true on Thursday night. Despite frequent double teams and rotations, Embiid roasted the Celtics to the tune of a season-high 38 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists over 36 minutes. That’s MVP-level production from one of the top stars in the East and a far cry from his ordinary performance in the opener against Boston.
Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis put up an admirable fight on the defensive end but a lack of size/strength (Theis) and skill (Kanter) just makes this a huge mismatch for Embiid. The good news for Boston? Both of those bigs played some of their best offense of the year to give the C’s a chance in this contest despite Embiid's breakout. Kanter (20 points, 10/13 FG) and Theis (16 points, 7/11 FG) nearly combined to match Embiid’s production by themselves, sharing 48 minutes at the center spot with Rob Williams (hip) and Grant Williams (DNP-CD) sidelined.
“I mean we don't have a lot of guys that have a lot of center strength, old-school center strength,” Brad Stevens explained. “I think VP is a little stronger than people realize so his time could come down the road. Theis was really good tonight and he battled, but it's a hard matchup obviously. We got a lot out of Kanter and Theis. They ended up with 16 and 20 (points). I guess I'd take 38-to-36 in that matchup.”
While it’s easy to envision Embiid putting up big numbers against Boston's defense in upcoming matchups, the C’s can’t expect their own centers to combine for 17-of-24 shooting from the field very often. The good news for the frontcourt is that Kanter is the kind of matchup that gives Embiid problems on the defensive end. He can hit a mid-range jumper and is a great offensive rebounder who finishes well when freed up on the offensive glass while Embiid has to challenge drives at the rim.
Kanter lineups against the Sixers this year have fared well on the whole so he’s the best option the C’s have right now against Philly despite his defensive flaws. He only played 20 minutes tonight and Stevens will need him to be smarter with his fouls if they want him to last longer in future matchups. Given how well Kanter and Theis played, this was a wasted opportunity for Boston to come up empty in the win column after getting so much out of the center spot.
2. Close losses are beginning to become a trend for this team, thanks to late-game defense and execution: While the Celtics rallied from nine down in the final three minutes of the game with a 12-4 run to give themselves a chance to tie the game, some ugly execution late prevented the C’s from completing the comeback. A few of the miscues that ruined the final minute were self-inflicted yet again. A quick rundown of the lowlights.
- Kanter running over Josh Richardson on a screen with 56 seconds left (probably a flop but Kanter needs better awareness with Philly in the penalty).
- Celtics fouling Ben Simmons with 34 seconds left and trailing by just two. An understandable decision that backfired as Stevens explained: “The decision to foul Simmons, in retrospect, because he makes both, isn't a great one. I will say that with 34 seconds, we know we can get a 2-for-1 if we go fast, so we at least have two more possessions left. If he misses one, then it's a one-possession game, you get the ball and get a chance to do what we did, which is hit a 3 and cut the lead to one or tie it if he misses it. Credit him, he stepped up and knocked them in.”
- Celtics fouling Embiid with 26.5 seconds left while trailing by just one (he made both free throws). Stevens: “Not (a) tough (decision) when they can just throw it to him and he can hold it and there's not much we can do about it,” he said. “Unless we double, then you're scrambling, you might give up an easy one and you might take time off the clock instead of extending the game at that time. To me, that one wasn't — the one to foul Simmons, obviously, because he hit them both. But the one at 26 seconds, you hate to see that shot get shot and just hangs in the air and then the rebound bounces around and you don't even get to run a play. So it's not like rebounds are easy for us against that group either.”
- Tatum throwing away the ball on an inbound pass with 25 seconds left (Jaylen Brown was probably fouled on the play but Tatum has to be sure here or call a timeout).