The Philadelphia 76ers are on a high following an impressive win in the play-in tournament to usher themselves into the playoffs, but a very tall task now looms over them. They will now be facing a bona fide title contender in the Boston Celtics, and without Joel Embiid, virtually no one is giving them a shot at an upset.
While he has not been officially ruled out for the series, Embiid is going to be sidelined to start the same. As such, Nick Nurse will be relying on Andre Drummond and Adem Bona to hold down the fort inside, although the way he is going to be utilizing Drummond could create a critical hole the Celtics are going to be exploiting non-stop.
Drummond put up an awe-inspiring effort to help propel the 76ers into the playoffs against Orlando, but Boston is a different beast. First off, they have one of the headiest tacticians in the game in Joe Mazzulla, and he is bound to exploit the way Nurse and his staff have deployed the veteran big man, especially on the offensive end.
Joe Mazzulla is bound to exploit the way the 76ers are using Andre Drummond
Drummond is no longer the rim-wrecker he used to be in the past. His finishing in the paint and above the rim has declined, which is part and parcel as to why he has integrated the three-point shot in his game. He has drained more three-pointers this season alone than in his first 13 years combined, which is certainly a fascinating development for one of the worst free-throw shooters in history.
Going back to the tactical point, Mazzulla is someone who does not shy away from being dogmatic in taking away the strength of the opposing team by being insistent on attacking a core weakness. For the 76ers, that means that Drummond will find himself wide-open for three-point shots a lot, and the Celtics are going to be happy campers if that is what transpires.
Even without Embiid, the 76ers have a slew of high-octane scorers who are all highly skilled at attacking space. By containing them and limiting their room to operate while willingly giving leeway to Drummond to hoist three-pointers (usually in the corners), the Celtics will already have an upper hand with the percentages.
Of course, the NBA remains a make-or-miss league. But if Drummond remains only a league-average shooter, Boston is going to be content if it is him who is going to swing the tides on the offensive end. As such, the 76ers have to be wise enough to adjust on the fly and be more selective as to when they should the veteran as a floor spacer.
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