The Philadelphia 76ers will face a true test as they head to Boston to take on the Celtics on Sunday night without superstar center Joel Embiid. The Sixers have won three games in a row, but without Embiid, things have not been as good of late. The Celtics, missing star Jason Tatum all season, have been a surprise in the Eastern Conference and have won four of their last five games.
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (33-26) at Boston Celtics (39-20)
When: 8:00 p.m. EST
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Watch: NBC, NBA League Pass, NBC Sports Philadelphia
The biggest news for the team is that their biggest star, center Joel Embiid, will miss the next three games with a strained right oblique. After a rough two weeks and a bunch of losses, Embiid returned, and things have been looking much better over their last few games until the center took an incidental hit during their win over the Heat on Thursday.
With Embiid out, the Sixers will rely on Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Quentin Grimes to combat the Celtics backcourt, while getting a big game from Kelly Oubre Jr. will be needed as well. Maxey and Edgecombe are both at the top of the league in minutes played, but with Embiid missing, the team will need even more from their dynamic duo.
With Jason Tatum lost for most of the season and the team unloading some high-priced sidekicks, the Celtics looked to have a lost season, only to reload with a nice draft pick and then return next season. The problem is that no one gave that memo to Jaylen Brown, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, or the rest of the squad.
The Celtics have the second-best record in the conference and boast a top-10 defense in both rating and efficiency, while also ranking second in the league in offense, right behind the Thunder. Is that not enough? They're also the eighth-best three-point shooting team in the league, which has made more threes than any other team. They're a tough team, no matter which way you look at them, and Jason Tatum is nearing a return. They also seem to be getting tougher as the team is now 10-2 over their last 12 games.
Tonight is a true test for the Sixers as they face one of the absolute best teams in the league, and there's no other way to say it. The Celtics, on both sides of the ball, are a relentless and talented team that finds ways to win, so the Sixers are going to need their best games from their best players.
The guard trio of Maxey, Edgecombe, and Grimes will need to be at their peak against this version of the Celtics with decisive passing, open looks, and quality shots. The defense needs to attack, or the Celtics will eat them up from all over the court.
While nothing is certain, the Sixers need to use this game to see exactly how they stack up against one of the league's best, despite missing two of their top stars. In the playoffs, the Sixers will hopefully be at full strength, and there's no way to stop that squad, but, for now, they'll need to see how they stand up on their own.
Celtics 121 - Sixers 97
