76ers (0-0) at Celtics (0-0) Game #1 10/18/22

[Vermont Green]

Couple of interesting things.  Do we know for sure that they are going to start Derrick White and go with the small unit?  To me this is interesting because Philly went out and got a PF (Tucker) so that they don't have to play Harris at PF.  I have always felt that playing Harris at PF was out of his natural position.  I am interested to see if he is more productive as a wing.

Philly is not a really big team but it will be interesting how our small unit is able to defend and rebound.  I don't like the small line ups in general but I understand that with RWill and Gallinari out, they are kind of forced into it.

[slamtheking]

Couple of interesting things.  Do we know for sure that they are going to start Derrick White and go with the small unit?  To me this is interesting because Philly went out and got a PF (Tucker) so that they don't have to play Harris at PF.  I have always felt that playing Harris at PF was out of his natural position.  I am interested to see if he is more productive as a wing.

Philly is not a really big team but it will be interesting how our small unit is able to defend and rebound.  I don't like the small line ups in general but I understand that with RWill and Gallinari out, they are kind of forced into it.

my gut tells me Embiid is going to go off tonight and the C's best chance of winning is to shut down everyone else since they have the defenders to do so.  The question will be can Embiid make up for the rest of his team's lower production.  based on that last preseason game, he's going to dominate the boards and kill us in the paint.   

[Vermont Green]

Couple of interesting things.  Do we know for sure that they are going to start Derrick White and go with the small unit?  To me this is interesting because Philly went out and got a PF (Tucker) so that they don't have to play Harris at PF.  I have always felt that playing Harris at PF was out of his natural position.  I am interested to see if he is more productive as a wing.

Philly is not a really big team but it will be interesting how our small unit is able to defend and rebound.  I don't like the small line ups in general but I understand that with RWill and Gallinari out, they are kind of forced into it.

my gut tells me Embiid is going to go off tonight and the C's best chance of winning is to shut down everyone else since they have the defenders to do so.  The question will be can Embiid make up for the rest of his team's lower production.  based on that last preseason game, he's going to dominate the boards and kill us in the paint.

Seems reasonable.  The other thing of interest to me is Harden.  Is he going to be healthy and in shape?  What form of Harden will be on the court this season?  In 21 Philly games last season, 21 pts / 7 rebs / 10 Assts.  For most players, that would be viewed as great.  For Harden, this represents playing hurt and not really fully integrated into the team.  His talk was that he lost weight, got in shape, healed his hamstring or whatever it was that was his nagging injury.  Plus a full preseason with the core team together.  I fear we are going to see a meaningfully improved Harden which could make Philly really good.

[Celtics2021]

Couple of interesting things.  Do we know for sure that they are going to start Derrick White and go with the small unit?  To me this is interesting because Philly went out and got a PF (Tucker) so that they don't have to play Harris at PF.  I have always felt that playing Harris at PF was out of his natural position.  I am interested to see if he is more productive as a wing.

Philly is not a really big team but it will be interesting how our small unit is able to defend and rebound.  I don't like the small line ups in general but I understand that with RWill and Gallinari out, they are kind of forced into it.

my gut tells me Embiid is going to go off tonight and the C's best chance of winning is to shut down everyone else since they have the defenders to do so.  The question will be can Embiid make up for the rest of his team's lower production.  based on that last preseason game, he's going to dominate the boards and kill us in the paint.

Yeah, I think Embiid goes for at least 40 and 15 tonight.  He almost always does well against us in general, and we don’t have anyone who can match up against him for 35+ minutes.  The key will be stopping everyone else, which is how we normally beat Philly.  Even when we crushed them by 48 last February, Embiid still went for 19/9/6 in 26 minutes.

[Surferdad]

A lotta folks here sound intimidated by Embiid/Harden. Fair enough, but I don't see the depth required for Philly be a legit contender.

[Who]

I expect Philly to come out the gate like gangbusters this season. That trio of Embiid, Harden & Maxey looks lethal. Maxey in particular.

I am expecting to see so much happiness and hope to start the year that they'll just play great right out the gate. Then injuries and attrition ... we'll see how they well they can weather that and maintain that hope.

But first couple of weeks of the season just blue skies everywhere. Sun shine and happy days.

[slamtheking]

A lotta folks here sound intimidated by Embiid/Harden. Fair enough, but I don't see the depth required for Philly be a legit contender.

there's a difference between seeing them as a legit contender and having a good game to start the season.

[slamtheking]

I expect Philly to come out the gate like gangbusters this season. That trio of Embiid, Harden & Maxey looks lethal. Maxey in particular.

I am expecting to see so much happiness and hope to start the year that they'll just play great right out the gate. Then injuries and attrition ... we'll see how they well they can weather that and maintain that hope.

But first couple of weeks of the season just blue skies everywhere. Sun shine and happy days.

I agree - I think Philly's going to come out and try to show they're legit, particularly Harden.   expecting a dogfight tonight and we can't afford for Tatum to have an off night

[bello_man09]

A lotta folks here sound intimidated by Embiid/Harden. Fair enough, but I don't see the depth required for Philly be a legit contender.

AL can do a good job on him, but if he wants to go off...its going to be a long night. Joel is a force if he wants to play hard. but of the time hes playing at 70-85 of effort. I think Blake can try and guard him as well.

[Jvalin]

Couple of interesting things.  Do we know for sure that they are going to start Derrick White and go with the small unit?  To me this is interesting because Philly went out and got a PF (Tucker) so that they don't have to play Harris at PF.  I have always felt that playing Harris at PF was out of his natural position.  I am interested to see if he is more productive as a wing.

Philly is not a really big team but it will be interesting how our small unit is able to defend and rebound.  I don't like the small line ups in general but I understand that with RWill and Gallinari out, they are kind of forced into it.

Tucker is 6'5". Tobias is 6'8". If anything, they got smaller.

Philly has an advantage in the half court cause they got Embiid (and to a lesser extent Harden). The way I see it, we should be trying to run in the open court as much as possible, hence we should go small.

[Vermont Green]

Couple of interesting things.  Do we know for sure that they are going to start Derrick White and go with the small unit?  To me this is interesting because Philly went out and got a PF (Tucker) so that they don't have to play Harris at PF.  I have always felt that playing Harris at PF was out of his natural position.  I am interested to see if he is more productive as a wing.

Philly is not a really big team but it will be interesting how our small unit is able to defend and rebound.  I don't like the small line ups in general but I understand that with RWill and Gallinari out, they are kind of forced into it.

Tucker is 6'5". Tobias is 6'8". If anything, they got smaller.

Philly has an advantage in the half court cause they got Embiid (and to a lesser extent Harden). The way I see it, we should be trying to run in the open court as much as possible, hence we should go small.

Well Harris is listed at 6'-7" but Tucker is going to replace Matisse Thybulle not Harris.  Harden-Maxey-Thybulle-Harris-Embiid was their most used line up last season.  Thybulle is a 6'-5" SG (listed that way anyway) so I think adding Tucker to the line up does make them "bigger".  Tucker is kind of like Grant, he doesn't have the traditional PF size, but plays PF.  He can defend PFs.  It is like starting Grant over White.  Changes the position of a couple of players. 

PHI paid a lot to get Tucker.  It is clear they felt this was important.  I think it is an impactful change.  We'll see how it goes.  See if it allows Harris to score more, or more efficiently.  It should also improve their defense and general muscle.  Instead of Harris being a small PF, he is now a bigger stronger SF than Thybulle or whoever they would have out there.  They should be better defensively at both positions.

[celticinorlando]

If Kornet plays meaningful minutes tonight, Boston is cooked.

Philly most likely wins tonight. Probably by double digits. Just the Cs have their usual slow start to the game. Try to climb back in it and then Philly pulls away late.

[footey]

Tonight's keys:

1. Can Al defend Embiid adequately?
2. Can Smart contain Maxey?

Last time we played Philly we blew them out by 40 points, right after Harden trade (Harden didn't play). Of course we had healthy Rob then, IIRC.

Celts by 10 tonight.

[Celtics2021]

Tonight's keys:

1. Can Al defend Embiid adequately?
2. Can Smart contain Maxey?

Last time we played Philly we blew them out by 40 points, right after Harden trade (Harden didn't play). Of course we had healthy Rob then, IIRC.

Celts by 10 tonight.

Rob missed the blowout, and the next night as well vs. Detroit.

[liam]

A lotta folks here sound intimidated by Embiid/Harden. Fair enough, but I don't see the depth required for Philly be a legit contender.

We have really good defenders for Harden and Horford is good on Embiid. I do expect Embiid to go off.