The Philadelphia 76ers have played for years in the NBA Eastern Conference shadows behind the Boston Celtics. This year, Philadelphia faces Boston in the semifinals, and center Joel Embiid is the perfect counter
The stakes have never been higher for the Philadelphia 76ers. In the NBA Playoffs, success quickly translates into great challenge. That’s how it goes when you are just 12 wins away from winning the NBA Championship. But the next 12 wins will get ever more difficult. For now, the next four must come at the expense of the Boston Celtics.
Even with two stars injured, that Celtics team is pretty good. And with a seven game series against the Milwaukee Bucks, their young players are gaining momentum and confidence heading into round two. So much the better. These Philadelphia 76ers will benefit win or lose from heated competition. And as the team is young and improving, any lessons learned in the 2018 NBA Playoffs will serve to reinforce better play next season.
Boston banged up
Still, the Celtics are not 100 percent. And that means they must rely on the talent at hand. Right now, that talent is power forward Al Horford. Horford is averaging 18.1 points per game in the Bucks series. While Horford concentrates on offense, the Celtics use big man Aron Baynes to defend the basket.
Baynes is not an offensive threat. But he is every bit the physical-pushing-regs-to-the-limit kind of guy the Sixers just overcame in their series with the Miami Heat. You can bet both will get the defensive assignment on Joel Embiid. Both will try at least. After all, the Philadelphia 76ers flood the floor with big men named Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, and Ben Simmons.