Would You Rather: Playoff Edition- Heat vs Celtics
The Sixers most likely matchups will be the Celtics, Heat, or Pacers. With Oladipo officially opted out, the Pacers become a much easier team, despite the Sixers struggles against them in the regular season. If the Sixers can advance to the 5th seed, they will find themselves facing off against the Heat in the first round. If they remain the 6th seed, it will be the Celtics who will be matched up against the Sixers. This article will dive into the regular season matchups against each team and translate those games into potential bubble playoff basketball.
76ers vs Celtics- Opening Night
Sixers dominated the paint in this game while taking advantage of every mismatch. Simmons punished Gordon Hayward with every switch and had his way inside all night. Richardson and Matisse had an impactful, collective effort guarding Kemba Walker. Matisse instantly became a fan favorite with his ferocious defense. The Sixers dominated this game and for the first time in multiple seasons, simply looked like the better basketball team. Sixers handle the Celtics easily, 107-93.
Simmons- 24, 9 assists, 8 rebounds Richardson- 17 points, Embiid- 3 blocks
Kemba- 12 points, 4-18
Tatum- 21 points on 22 shots… YUCK
Celtics vs Sixers- December 12th
After Shaq and Chuck spent an entire pre-game show roasting Embiid, the big man set the tone and dominated the paint. He was punishing every double team that came his way, and he was being smart, and careful with the ball. Mike Scott added some much needed bench scoring by draining threes early. Sixers win a close one, 115-109.
Embiid- 38 points, Tobias- 23 points
Tatum- 15 points on 18 shots 27% field goal percentage… YUCK!!
Sixers vs Celtics- January 9th
Sixers were without Embiid and were looking for Al Horford to step up defensively. At home, Philly found themselves down 15 in the second quarter. Furkan started draining timely threes and before the half, they fought back within single digits. Ben Simmons had an excellent, all around game. This was the beginning of a stretch where he really elevated his game and became more aggressive. Sixers controlled the second half and ended up winning by double digits.
Richardson- 29 points, Simmons- 19 points, Horford- Great interior defense
Brown- 6 points on 12 shots 16%, Tatum- 15 points on 13 shots, 30% field goal… YUCK!!!!!! (Ben Simmons’s son)
Celtics vs Sixers- February 1st
Sixers were in the midst of their worst road stretch of the season. The Celtics pummeled them from the opening tip. Jaylen Brown finally played well against the Sixers, deciding to erupt for 32 points. The Celtics were without Kemba Walker but that didn’t seem to matter. Simmons had 23 points but the teams’ lack of effort was disgusting. Embiid was -25 and the Celtics go on to win by… A lot.
Overall
In 3 out of 4 games the Sixers looked like a much better team. Simmons played great defense on Tatum forcing him to jack up a lot of shots and shoot a low percentage. Tatum when guarded by Simmons is only shooting 31%. Embiid’s intensity was coming into question midway through the season but I expect him to come out with a rage in his eyes during the playoffs. He’s apparently in the best shape of his life and ready to go. Embiid had one of the best performances of the season in game 2 dominating the paint. With Kanter and Theis as the Celtics big men, Embiid realistically should dominate every single game against the Celtics. Simmons should dominate the paint as well, with a large portion of his matchups being against Gordon Hayward.
I have confidence that the Sixers could take the Celtics in a series considering they beat them 3-1 in the regular season. The Sixers struggled during the regular season while the Celtics overachieved. Celtics would be a tough first round matchup for the Sixers and vice-versa. This is no way an ideal first series for the Sixers. This series would most likely go 6 or 7 games.
Sixers vs Heat- November 23rd
Jimmy Butler was welcomed back to Well Fargo with a roar of boos from the crowd. I was at this game, and even though I don’t hate Butler, I booed as loud as possible every time he touched the ball. The Sixers controlled the game from the opening tip starting off 26-6. Richardson had something to prove against his former team and he was hitting on all cylinders. The Sixers were up 82-53 at one point and the Heat simply stopped trying by the 2nd quarter. Sixers easily won the game and it was a great night for the home Philly fans.
Richardson- 32 points, 6 threes, Embiid- 23 points
Sixers vs Heat- December 18th
The Sixers had a great first quarter starting off the game winning 27-15. The game completely shifted when the Heat switched to a zone in the 2nd. The Sixers were a mediocre three point shooting team and it proved during this game. They relied too heavily on the three during the second half. They provided little ball movement and jacked up triples early in the shot clock with every possession. It was infuriating watching Brett Brown keep the same game plan that was killing them. Their best moments came when Embiid got the ball in the middle and exposed miss matches but they didn’t do it enough. The threes started to fall in the 4th once they began to penetrate the zone and create more space. It took them too long to start the half-court offense with Embiid or Simmons occupying the middle of the zone. Sixers lose a close one after a terrible call where Embiid had a crucial block on Butler. Still no excuses for that game.
Embiid- 22 points, Harris- 20 points, Kendrick Nunn- 26 points
Heat vs Sixers- December 18th
I was dreading going back to watch highlights for this game. This was one of the toughest losses of the season. The Heat had a strong home court record despite only having 20 fans in attendance. I think the bandwagon is starting to return since Lebron’s departure. Sixers played great defense the first half by not letting the Heat catch fire from three. Skipping to the end, Embiid had an excellent 4th quarter by scoring clutch buckets over Bam. His fadeaway three should’ve been the dagger with 1:14 putting the Sixers up by 5. This was the most atrocious, idiotic, piss-poor ending to a Sixers game I’ve ever seen. The lack of awareness by Harris and Embiid was inexcusable. Harris goes up for a dunk over Bam with 20 seconds left instead of holding on to the ball. If he sits on the ball, he gets fouled, and the game is over. Then, Embiid holds on to the ball for multiple seconds in a double team instead of passing it out. I understand that he was holding on to the ball to get fouled, but he was entirely too soft with the ball. You have to be stronger with it.
This was a reoccurring problem with the Sixers down the stretch of games. They inability to close out has killed them in the past. The ending to this game was utterly despicable. They should’ve won this game no excuses. Sixers go to overtime where Harris gets a fantastic look to win but misses. Sixers lose their second straight game against the Heat.
Embiid- 35 points, Simmons- 15 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists
Butler- 25 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists
Heat vs Sixers- February 3rd
There’s not much to say regarding this game. This was the worst performance of the year for the Sixers in the middle of their pathetic road losses. The game after the team gets smacked by the Celtics, they turn around with another embarrassing road loss against the Heat. Another away game where they hang in for the first half, then come out completely flat-footed in the second. I questioned what was being said to them during halftime after constantly lacking effort in the 3rd quarter during road games. The Sixers get hammered in this one. They let Butler shoot the three and he took advantage knocking down his chances. It was sweet revenge for James Butler as he scored 38 points
Heat 137, Sixers 106… Yikes
Conclusion… Bring on the Heat
The Sixers killed the Heat in game 1. The heat killed the Sixers in game 4. The games in between were competitive, nerve-racking, and fun despite the losses. With the Sixers adding Shake Milton into the lineup for Orlando, a zone would be much harder to defend with more spacing for the offense. There are a couple of guys on the Heat that had a great regular season but I don’t think their game will translate well into the playoffs.
The playoffs are a much different game with an emphasis on physicality and inside scoring. It becomes harder to score from the perimeter. We found that out the hard way two years ago against the Celtics. I think the Sixers defense can shut down shooters like Robinson, Herro, and Nunn. Ben Simmons has played well against Butler limiting him to 25% in one-on-one matchups. Bam had some good games against the Sixers but Embiid was still very dominant against him most of the time.
I welcome a chance to play the Heat in the first round. I’m confident that the restart will give Sixers the must needed push they were searching for. I think that the Sixers could take the Celtics or the Heat, but I’d rather face the Heat in the first round. I honestly think Sixers could finish them off in 6 maybe 5. Heat had a great year but they are inexperienced and young. The Bubble creates strange circumstances that I think will give Simmons and Embiid even more of advantage. I welcome the Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
