The Philadelphia 76ers are in Boston on Christmas Day to take on the Celtics as they look to keep their momentum going after a win over the Spurs on Monday night. Joel Embiid will be back in the lineup, along with Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, as the Sixers hope that all four can finish the game after everything that transpired on Monday. The Celtics are coming off a tough loss to the Magic on Monday and will look to show everyone why they’re still one of the top teams in the league.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (10-17) at Boston Celtics (22-7)
When: 5:00 pm EST
Where: TD Garden, Boston Mass
Watch: ABC, ESPN
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers defeated the Spurs on Monday night despite Joel Embiid being ejected in the first half and Andre Drummond being ejected and then having that rescinded. Some may call the game a “mess” regarding how it was officiated and what took place throughout it. Despite all of the nonsense, the Sixers came away with a victory, their seventh in their last ten games.
With Embiid only playing 19 minutes because of the ejection, the rest of the team really needed to step up, and they responded. Tyrese Maxey had 32 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists, with Paul George getting 19 points and nine rebounds as well. Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 10 points, Caleb Martin had 12 points, and Guerschon Yabusele finished with 17 points, and the whole team came together for a huge win.
Paul George is trying to get himself back into his usual form, and while the stats are starting to show up, his shooting has been lackluster at best. Monday saw PG finish just 6-16 from the floor and 2-7 on his three-point attempts. George is able to affect the game in other ways, and teams have to be wary of his ability, so it helps the whole roster. On the other hand, Maxey has seemingly found his stroke of late, finishing 12-25 from the field and 5-11 on three-pointers on Monday night.
With contributions from the bench and Maxey’s resurgence, the team is in a good position, especially considering the lighter schedule over the next few weeks. Embiid, despite Monday’s incident, looks more and more like his former self than what he showed early in the season. With the Sixers having four back-to-back series over the next month, it looks like Embiid will be on the floor for 16 of the next 20 games, which bodes well for a Sixers team that desperately needs to move up in the standings.
Latest on the Celtics
The Celtics are coming home for Christmas after losing to the Magic on Monday, 108-104, in Orlando. The team has gone 6-4 over its last ten games after starting the season off at 16-3. It’s been rough for the Celtics, as they’ve lost to the Magic, Bulls, and Grizzlies over that period but have won games over the Bucks, Heat, Bulls, and Pistons. It’s not exactly the toughest part of their schedule.
For Christmas Day, the Celtics have Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White listed as questionable on the injury report, but they’re all probably going to play as it’s a nationally televised game against one of their biggest rivals.
Tatum has been playing amazing basketball for the first part of the season, averaging 28.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game while shooting 46.3% from the floor. He’s their top star and is playing the best all-around basketball of his career. In addition to Tatum, opposing teams are faced with Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis as the next two options on the floor for the Celtics, which is no easy task for any team.
White is averaging 23.9 points per game, and Porzingis is at 19.2 points per game during the season, which helps the Celtics put out a trio of star players on their own who are hard to defend. What gets even worse for any opposing team is that immediately following Boston’s own big three, you have to deal with Derrick White and Payton Prichard running the point and averaging 17.0 and 15.2 points per game on their own.
What to watch for
If you think that Joel Embiid was upset on Monday after getting tossed from the Spurs game, you would imagine that today, on a national stage against the rival Celtics, he’s going to be on another level. Embiid, for all of the criticism and questions that have surrounded him to start the season, has been looking more like the player he’s been over the past few seasons. Today, he’ll be looking to show everyone that he’s back and ready to dominate again.
The Celtics have a deep roster of talented players who are still the defending NBA Champions and are looking to do the same thing this season. If it wasn’t for the emergence of the Cavaliers, the Celtics would be running away with the Eastern Conference. While the Knicks and Magic aren’t too far behind in the standings, the reality is that the Celtics are on a different level and can beat teams in multiple ways. The Sixers are going to need all of their players to step up if they want to win this game.
As he’s shown on multiple occasions, former Celtic and current Sixers Guershon Yabusele can be a huge asset for the team. He can score in many ways while giving the team sound defense and rebounding. With KJ Martin out for at least two weeks, the Sixers may employ Yabusele even more, as he’s proven he can be counted on. Against the Celtics, he could be the difference in a win or a loss.
Prediction
Sixers 117 – Celtics 113
