Boston Celtics stomp 76ers, avoid season sweep

Short of Kemba Walker, the Boston Celtics demolish the Philadelphia 76ers to avoid a season sweep.

Despite the absence of Kemba Walker, the Boston Celtics demolished the Philadelphia 76ers, 116-95. After Philadelphia won the first three meetings between the two teams, the Celtics avoided the season sweep, blowing them out Saturday night in TD Garden.

Boston was led by all-star snub Jaylen Brown, who finished with 32 points and 9 rebounds. Brown went 13/23 from the field, yet he struggled from beyond the arc, only shooting 1/10 from downtown. This means he made 12 of his 13 2-point shots, having one of his best mid range performances of the year. He also drove to the basket early and often, going to the free throw line seven times on the night.

The most improved area of Brown’s game is his ball handling. In this game, he often found himself against Mattise Thybulle, a rookie defensive specialist. On this play in particular, Brown easily crossed up Thybulle and got an easy look at the rim:

If he can continue to improve his dribbling skills, it will be nearly impossible to stop him from getting to the rim, where we know he can finish.

The other Jay, Jayson Tatum, had 25 points on 7/19 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists. He proved to the national audience that he is a deserving All-Star selection, dunking all over former teammate and friend Al Horford:

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1223787338452463619

Tatum has found his way into many posters already in his career, and this is one of his best. Although the team struggled from the three point line, shooting 8/30 on the night, Tatum seized the opportunity, making three of his six attempts. Like Brown, he also lived at the foul line, ending up with 10 free throw attempts for the game.

Against Philly, it’s effective to try to draw fouls and drive to the basket, because many of their defenders will reach in and try to get easy steals to start the fast break. If you can hold onto the ball, the ref will call the foul, and you get two easy points out of it. The Boston Celtics ended up with a season high 41 free throw attempts, converting 32 of them.

Likewise, the 76ers went 26/31 from the line.

Getting the start due to Walker’s knee soreness, Marcus Smart took advantage, scoring 16 points on only 8 shots, while also recording 4 rebounds and 4 assists. When Philly went to their 2-3 zone defense, Smart often found himself in the middle of the zone, getting an open look from 15 feet away.

https://twitter.com/ChrisForsberg_/status/1223815932730060802

The most impressive part of this win was the bench production. Brad Stevens only gave three players meaningful minutes off the bench: Semi Ojeleye, Brad Wanamaker, and Grant Williams. The lack of bench offense has often been criticized by Celtics fans, but they have never been questioned on the defensive side of the ball.

Ojeleye finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, going a perfect 6/6 from the line. He is developing on the offensive side of the ball, and is one of the strongest players in the league on defense. He was not taken advantage of when he played backup big minutes along with Grant Williams, and was more than just a body in the corner on offense, continuously attacking the basket.

Williams also looked like he just wanted it more than the Sixers. Late in the game, he got three offensive rebounds, all on the same possession, channeling his inner Enes Kanter. Without Kanter and Robert Williams, Stevens has entrusted Semi and Grant to pilot the backup center minutes, prioritizing their switch-ability over Vincent Poirer’s size.

Brad Wanamaker, in 26 minutes, had maybe the best game of his NBA career. He finished with 15 points on 5/9 from the field, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound, and 2 dunks – the first two of his career. In other games, the offensive production has taken a dip when Wanamaker comes in to run the offense. In this game, he pulled his weight, hitting pull-up threes and driving to the basket when necessary.

Here’s his first dunk, avoiding a trailing Joel Embiid:

https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1223791843751550976

The refs gave him a technical foul for “taunting” Embiid after the dunk. Not sure how that classifies as taunting, but it didn’t matter in the end — Wanamaker: 1, Embiid: 0.

After Gordon Hayward scored 20+ points the last four games for the first time in his Boston Celtics career, he had an off night, going 1/11 for only 4 points. He did grab 9 rebounds to still have an impact on the game, but without Kemba and essentially Hayward, the Celtics’ performance was all the more impressive.

As for the 76ers, they struggled shooting all night, ending up 7/33 from downtown (21.2%). The Boston Celtics also played lock down defense, allowing 19 points and 16 points in the first and third quarters, respectively. In only 23 minutes, 76ers superstar Joel Embiid went 1/11 from the field for 11 points. Credit Daniel Theis for denying him post-ups throughout the majority of the game, forcing him into jump shots, a shot that isn’t very effective for him.

Al Horford and Tobias Harris combined for 19 points, only going 8/23 from the field. When Embiid has an awful night, and the rest of the front court can’t find their offense, it’s going to be hard for the 76ers to find a way to win.

The most successful Philadelphia player was Ben Simmons, recording 23 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, on only 14 shots. Simmons mainly found his openings in the second quarter, using his athleticism to finish over the shorter Celtics players. At 6-10, Simmons is taller than any Boston Celtics player that played meaningful minutes tonight. When he gets a running start to the rim, he’s hard to stop.

Without Kemba Walker, the Boston Celtics showed that they’re not afraid of the Philadelphia 76ers. Many of these players have beaten Philly in the playoffs, and they might have to do it again in April.