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.
The Philadelphia 76ers will travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers, Friday, Dec. 18.