The Philadelphia 76ers satisfied their first chance of revenge as they overcame the team that sent them home packing last season, the Boston Celtics. During that 106-103 victory for the Sixers, there were a few takeaways that bode well for the future of the team.
The Sixers are a deeper team
In recent years, the Philadelphia 76ers have struggled to produce with their role players. Against the Celtics, they had a balanced attack. With Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington coming off the bench, the Sixers had legit 3-point shooters to spread the floor.
Defensively, they looked stronger, too. Without Georges Niang to get picked on by quicker opponents, Patrick Beverly and Covington were there to fluster the Celtic players. Both players should continue to help neutralize opponents’ perimeter wing players throughout the season.
On the other side, Boston’s depth took a hit after off-season transactions. They only had two reserve players score off the bench for 16 points. If Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard are Boston’s go-to role players, that won’t be enough against a deeper Sixers bench in subsequent matchups. Losing Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, and Grant Williams may come back to bite the Celtics, especially if one of their starters misses time due to injury
Maxey continues to expand his game
Versus Boston, Maxey was the second-leading scorer for the Sixers. Although he had a slow start to the game, he picked things up and impacted the game in a number of ways. You saw his growth on display last night with Maxey as he made good choices in passing situations. His floater was almost unstoppable against the Celtics, and his speed caused the lane to collapse. This allowed him to kick to the corner for open threes. Watching his distribution skills improve game after game is something special.
With blurring speed and his threat to shoot from anywhere on the floor, Maxey gave Boston issues. He was not as efficient as he could be, but his overall game impacted the outcome in favor of Philly. Maxey’s size will always be a factor, as he did get his shot blocked in the final quarter by Jaylen Brown with the shot clock running down. However, it’s evident that his production proves that even Jrue Holiday might have issues keeping up with Maxey in future games.
Lastly, if you look at the box score of the playoff game when the Celtics eliminated the Sixers last spring, Maxey took only 12 shots. James Harden had 11. In their first matchup this season, Maxey took 27 shots. Because he is a better shooter and finisher than Harden, this could be a huge upgrade for Philly.
Currently, Maxey is averaging seven assists per game and only 1.1 turnovers for a 6.1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Last season, Harden averaged over ten assists, but his four turnovers and 3.1 a game showed how careless he could be with the ball.
Less is more
You would think that losing the NBA assist leader player would hurt your team. The absence of James Harden has enabled the ball to move quicker and more often. Versus the Celtics, the Sixers made quicker decisions to improve their chances in the half-court set. They also pushed the ball to get easier baskets in transition, outscoring Boston in fast break points 21-19.
Unlike last year when they struggled in the playoffs, in this game, instead of everyone standing around watching James Harden dribble the air out the ball with the shot clock running down, Nick Nurse was able to implement a system that boosts offensive efficiency.
A great example of this was in the second half. Tobias Harris stepped into a 3-pointer at the top of the key. He made the shot in part because Maxey chose to make the right pass as the shot clock was running down. If Harden was in that situation, he would’ve taken a bad shot himself, only after giving the defender a chance to contest the attempt.
Addition by subtraction seems to be a key theme from this game and moving forward. Less ball dominance and more offensive balance have the Sixers sitting atop the NBA Eastern Conference at the moment. Next up is Detroit. The Sixers take on the Pistons on Friday night at 7:00 PM EST.
