GRADES: Philadelphia 76ers 108, Boston Celtics 99
By Sam Coltrane
The Philadelphia 76ers start the 2020-21 campaign on a high note.
The Philadelphia 76ers opened the 2020-2021 preseason hosting the Boston Celtics. Philadelphia marched out two newcomers from the offseason into the starting lineup which started 3rd team All-NBA performer Ben Simmons, newcomer Seth Curry, newcomer Danny Green, Tobias Harris, and 2-time All-NBA star Joel Embiid. Of course, they were led by their new coach, Doc Rivers.
Boston marched out their potential starting five outside of Kemba Walker who will be sidelined until January.
The game was not perfect, but it certainly involved moments of offensive fluidity and players giving real efforts.
Philadelphia opened the scoring on a nice 18-foot jumper from Curry. Roughly halfway through the first quarter, a Jayson Tatum dunk gave Boston a 13-8. From there, Philadelphia would turn it on as they closed out the quarter on a 21-6 run.
The second quarter started with a whole new group who came in periodically throughout the first. Shake Milton, Furkan Korkmaz, Matisse Thybulle, Mike Scott, and Dwight Howard comprised the second unit.
Right away, the second unit was a sight for sore eyes. Milton and Korkmaz each made several tough shots and Howard played large in the middle of the defense. The group kept a lead for the starters to return.
From there, it was all Embiid. Him and Curry highlighted a wonderful dribble hand-off game that looked eerily similar to the offensive flow Embiid once had with J.J. Redick. Embiid would lead Philadelphia in scoring with 18 points as the rest of the starters played well and with good motion, offensively. At halftime, Philadelphia led 50-44.
The second half saw Howard join the starting unit as Embiid’s night was done. The third quarter was played fast, with Simmons and Harris appearing as fans have come to expect. What stood out was Milton’s ability to create off the dribble. Milton scored 15 points in the quarter.
By the fourth quarter, the game was filled with the lesser known names and young players. The final would go on to be 108-99. Some individual performer highlights from the fourth quarter include: First round pick Tyrese Maxey went 4-for-6 from the field and looked confident offensively, while patently active defensively. Tony Bradley appears to at least be an interesting flyer as a traditional big body and a classic Vincent Poirier revenge game.
<strong>17 mins | 18 pts | 3 reb | 2 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 6-14 FG | 0-4 3PT| 6-6 FT | 2 PF | +5 |</strong><p>Embiid reminded everyone just how talented he was. He looked as nimble as ever and made his presence felt. His night ended at halftime as he led all scorers. Most importantly, he looked very comfortable operating with Curry in the dribble hand-off and made a strong cut to get fouled on a driving Simmons drop-off.</p>. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID. A
B+. <strong>26 mins | 10 pts | 2 reb | 6 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 3-5 FG | 0-0 3PT| 4-5 FT | 3 PF | +13 |</strong><p>Simmons looked a lot like what Philadelphia has come to expect. He was aggressive when that was the right play, he pulled up and moved the ball when the game slowed, and he didn’t really shoot. That said, he did shoot 4-for-5 from the free throw line. His defense was strong, and the team was better with him on it.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS
A-. <strong>26 mins | 16 pts | 9 reb | 3 ast | 1 stl | 1 blk | 4 TO | 7-11 FG | 1-3 3PT| 1-2 FT | 1 PF | +16 |</strong><p>Harris looked more comfortable and it was encouraging to see him not just snag nine rebounds, but put up 11 shots. Shooting 6-for-8 from inside the arc, pushing the ball into the paint, and having a team-high +/- proved a strong night for Harris.</p>. PF. Philadelphia 76ers. TOBIAS HARRIS
B. <strong>24 mins | 7 pts | 3 reb | 1 ast | 0 stl | 1 blk | 2 TO | 3-8 FG | 1-4 3PT| 0-0 FT | 1 PF | +10 |</strong><p>Curry had a rather mundane performance when looking at the traditional box score numbers. For those who actually watched the game, they got to see a treat for the future and a nice blast from the past. The Embiid, Curry dribble hand-off was tremendous to watch and could be interesting to watch as to how often the team can deploy it.</p>. SG. Philadelphia 76ers. SETH CURRY
A. <strong>23 mins | 19 pts | 4 reb | 3 ast | 0 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 8-14 FG | 3-6 3PT| 0-0 FT | 3 PF | +11 |</strong><p>Milton looked every bit the part of what Philadelphia needs him to be and then some. He poured in 19 points on only 14 shots. More importantly, he generated a lot of his own offense. He can hit tough shots. Milton being a sixth-man, especially if Embiid is the first to the bench, could give Rivers plenty of options.</p>. PG. Philadelphia 76ers. SHAKE MILTON
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The Philadelphia 76ers will travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers, Friday, Dec. 18.