Banner Town Breakdown: Embiid Explodes to Beat the Celtics
Bill Streicher | USA TODAY Sports
The Celtics (8-4) sought out a win against a tough 76ers (9-5) squad after getting chased off the floor in an ugly 105-75 loss to the Knicks. The biggest news for Boston came on Sunday, with Kemba Walker returning to the lineup. Despite his need to kick off the rust, Walker moved well against New York, even among his shooting struggles. Even Walker acknowledged his pain had prevented him in the past:
With Jayson Tatum COVID-free but still recovering, Boston went into the matchup down their best scoring option and absolutely needed to get Kemba Walker going. Boston struggled from the field in historical fashion on Sunday, so a palate cleanser game against a team they will most likely face in the playoffs was important. Philly is just about as close as you can get for a team of equal standing to Boston in both record and statistics, and given the history between the two teams, everyone expected an interesting game.
Boston once again trotted out Grant at the 4 with Tristan Thompson at the 5, again drifting away from the double big lineup. It’ll be interesting how Boston will tweak its lineup going forward since they could keep Grant where he’s at or go in a different direction and slide Jayson Tatum over to the 4. The earliest we’ll see JT return is Friday, so there’s a decent chance Williams will get the nod again in Friday’s matchup.
It may be a bit crazy to say, but this may be the best shape we’ve seen Kemba Walker in since joining the Celtics. He moved with incredible speed, and start off hot, making 5 of his 6 first shots, and all of them were from deep. In the bubble, it was extremely noticeable that Walker was dealing with knee issues, mainly because his 3 point shot struggled; Walker struggled to get as much lift on his shot, and his 3 point shooting took a big dip in the postseason. Against Philly, it was a different story, with Walker draining shots from range on 5/9 shooting on the night.
Daniel Theis seriously benefited from Walker’s return, dropping a double-double with 23 points and 11 boards on 10/12 shooting. On the night, Boston shot 364% from 3, compared to Philly’s 33.3%; Boston once again was bit by the turnover bug, losing 16 possessions to Philadelphia’s 9. The battle of the benches was incredibly close (Boston 33 to Philly’s 30), as was the fast break (Boston 18, Philly 24) and rebound battle (58 to 48). Both teams came out to play, with Joel Embiid playing extremely physical and getting to the line for 17/21 shooting on free throws. Ultimately, the disparity of free throws (Philly 36/45, Boston 13/20) sealed Philly’s win 117 to 109.
On the night, Kemba Walker notched 19 points (6/15 shooting, 5/9 from deep) with 2 boards and 6 assists. Daniel Theis (23 points, 10/12 shooting, 11 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl) had a fantastic game as well as Jaylen Brown (26 points, 10/24 shooting, 3/10 from deep, 5 reb, 3 ast) and Marcus Smart (25 points, 10/19 shooting, 1/6 from 3, 4 reb, 4 ast). Philadelphia was led by Joel Embiid (42 points, 12/9 shooting, 17/21 FT, 10 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk), Danny Green (12 points, 4/8 shooting from deep, 6 reb, 1 ast), and Tobias Harris (22 points, 9/17 shooting, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl). The two teams will face off again on Friday, and hopefully Jayson Tatum will be in tow. Tipoff is at 7:30 PM EST.
