Sixers vs Celtics, Tuesday 8PM ET, TNT

[Mik317]

JoJo trying to overpower Horford is apart of the problem.

Been whining about it all year but he needs to model his game after Tim Duncan rather than Shaq. Whenever the refs decide to swallow their whistles that stops being successful...having multiple options is what he needs at times

[celt4life]

and yet, Boston only won by 3.
and in the playoffs Boston only won by 5, 3 and 2 (in games 2, 3 and 5).
so whatever is wrong with Philly, is only wrong in the final couple of possessions

Not saying that y’all aren’t good, or that you can’t win the series against us.... but this isn’t only us it’s against the other top teams in the east. So maybe is about 5 points less that will make the difference, The real answer would be Tatum or a Fultz that could shoot or didn’t bust. Ben needs to take at least 3 three pointers a game. When y’all played us in the last game he hit a shot from 15 feet they said that was the longest shot made from him for a year.... cmon man. Ben said he wanted to talk to magic? Well I watched magic and he could shoot lol- that’s the answer. But good luck to your squad, Embid is a beast

Embiid isn't as good as Horford when they meet, whereas Embiid outplays every other center in the NBA, and that appears to be why Boston beats Philly....

at least Ben's production is the same vs Boston as it is vs everyone else....even vs Boston in the playoffs, only 1 bad game-
Game 1: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 6-11 field, 6-11 free
Game 2: 1 point, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, 0-4 field, 1-2 free
Game 3: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 8-14 field, 0-0 free
Game 4: 19 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 6-15 field, 7-8 free
Game 5: 18 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 8-15 field, 2-2 free

its not much different to Rondo winning the championship with Pierce, Allen, KG, similar to Ben with Redick, Harris, Butler, Embiid....except the East is deeper now

I can see that comparison but don’t think it was rondo.. it was Garnett had a jump shot that was freaking money from 18-20 feet and Inside game.... Embid doesn’t have that good of a jump shot yet.... Ray Allen was a 3 point nightmare and so was pierce... rondos targets were better to get the ball too. Also we didn’t consider Rondo to be the next level player... had to hope so for a while but we knew the truth... it’s a shooters league..he has the other tools to make him good but needs the one thing that matters most. It’s a make or miss league and spacing matters.... he has time but if you don’t see it by next year... he’s in danger at trade deadline....have a great day man! Appreciate the friendly difference of opinion... maybe bump this in the playoffs lol

[FireMorey]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

[Ben Simmons]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

remember the possession where Horford was called for the technical foul, i think that was an example of Embiid banging as hard as possible and Horford was like a wall, so i can see why Embiid looked for jump shots

[76ciology]

Why other teams don't abuse JJ like what Celtics keep doing against us ?

Teams just run their regular season philosophies and sets on both ends. Just like us.

Celts is one of the few teams that change their gameplan on the other opponents

So it's almost like Brett should know that by now and do something about it...

Why show your cards in the regular season? Why not see what works or not for your team and see what the opponent may throw at you?

Well, if brett is playing 4D chess

[Bum Adebayo]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

He has an advantage in size, but not in strength, Embiid looks very strong in his upper body but when posting up against players with very strong base like Horford, he simply has a hard time moving them. He has chicken legs.

[76ciology]

Celts mentality is simple.

They know jj is the SECOND MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER ON OUR TEAM.

Not Ben. Not Butler. Not Harris. But JJ.

The +/- will also tell you that.

That said, they have their entire defense built to defend Biid. Whether its horford + helpside D or horford+ Baynes.

For JJ, they try to take him away by abusing his defense.

Sixers plays like a borderline playoff team without jojo and jj.

[76ciology]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

He has an advantage in size, but not in strength, Embiid looks very strong in his upper body but when posting up against players with very strong base like Horford, he simply has a hard time moving them. He has chicken legs.

Here’s the thing.

It’s a FACT that you wont get a good success rate banging Horford and getting his shots off against multiple celts defenders flying over his shot.

That said, why does he still force it? Don Quixote mentality?

He can shoot over Horford, he has that advantage. He can throw a hook over Horford.

If he can’t, then he’s not a superstar.

[Ben Simmons]

at least Redick made 4 of 8 treys
actually everyone did well downtown except-
Harris 0-6, Embiid 2-8.

[Bum Adebayo]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

He has an advantage in size, but not in strength, Embiid looks very strong in his upper body but when posting up against players with very strong base like Horford, he simply has a hard time moving them. He has chicken legs.

Here’s the thing.

It’s a FACT that you wont get a good success rate banging Horford and getting his shots off against multiple celts defenders flying over his shot.

That said, why does he still force it? Don Quixote mentality?

He can shoot over Horford, he has that advantage. He can throw a hook over Horford.

If he can’t, then he’s not a superstar.

He is not a superstar. He is a star that struggles notably against certain centers. A superstar is a player that can't be stopped, or is very hard to stop.
To beat Horford, or atleast improve his success against him, he needs to abandon bully ball and stop trying to draw fouls against him, try to score by facing up, shoot over him or try to blow by him and use hooks, don't try to post him up. If there is a double team, kick it out.

[AI_Efficiency]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/2/13/18223438/philadelphia-sixers-boston-celtics-al-horford

[FireMorey]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

He has an advantage in size, but not in strength, Embiid looks very strong in his upper body but when posting up against players with very strong base like Horford, he simply has a hard time moving them. He has chicken legs.

Nothing is supposed to come easy. If he has a hard time moving him, then he needs to nut up and be mentally prepared for a dog fight for 48 minutes. Can’t allow yourself to be taken out of your game

[VDT]

It was not just Horford, he didnt even try to take advantqge of Theis whom he dominated last time.

Embiid needs to get deeper position without the ball and not trying to do that whole dribbling as he usually does. It will make things easier since the closer to the basket he is the hardest it is to double him without conceding the open 3.

At this point i think the reason for what he does is that he is not as skilled as he appears in the post. He has the footwork but he still cant score with his left and his hook shots are a work in progress. He also hasnt mastered certain nuancies of post play. But it is also probably partly a coaching decision, Brown wants him to set screens and space the floor. It is also hard to have him purely in the post because of the spacing issues

[brannigan73]

Embiid needs to be used as more of a screener/decoy versus the Celtics. He can still score plenty of points as an opportunity scorer off of creation by Simmons or Butler and off the offensive glass. They can post him up occassionally but it cant be something they go to over and over again Horford is too good. They don't allow the stuff Shaq used to do anymore you can't bulldoze people and get away with it and anyway Horford is really strong don't give me the height and weight difference between the two it doesn't matter Horford knows how to absorb contact without moving much at all. And even if he did get away with some fouls he is going to continue to get away with them because he has a great reputation. For Embiid to ignore that and feel it will change is magical thinking. Its Embiid's play style (and the Sixers) versus the C's that needs to change. They probably would have won this game if they would have run the offense through Butler for the last half of the fourth quarter. That fact of the matter is talent wise this team has what it takes but there needs to be mental adjustments by the players (throw ego and pecking order out the window depedning on the situation) and the coach needs to do a much better job.

[FireMorey]

Yep, he never establishes deep in the post. He gets a little resistance and just settles at 15 or out, which is nowheresville. He needs to go in mentally prepared to have to bang down low against resistance and the coach needs to get on him when he doesn’t. How does Brett allow him to not even enter the paint the entire second half until the last 2 minutes?

[VDT]

He has an advantage in size, but not in strength, Embiid looks very strong in his upper body but when posting up against players with very strong base like Horford, he simply has a hard time moving them. He has chicken legs.

Here’s the thing.

It’s a FACT that you wont get a good success rate banging Horford and getting his shots off against multiple celts defenders flying over his shot.

That said, why does he still force it? Don Quixote mentality?

He can shoot over Horford, he has that advantage. He can throw a hook over Horford.

If he can’t, then he’s not a superstar.

He is not a superstar. He is a star that struggles notably against certain centers. A superstar is a player that can't be stopped, or is very hard to stop.
To beat Horford, or atleast improve his success against him, he needs to abandon bully ball and stop trying to draw fouls against him, try to score by facing up, shoot over him or try to blow by him and use hooks, don't try to post him up. If there is a double team, kick it out.

That makes literally zero sense. Shooting contested mid range jumpers is the last thing you want to do. Trying to blow by players 3-4 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter than him makes also not much sense. If he wants to become a dominant player he needs imo to embrace the post play. Which is why i dont get why people want him to lose weight. He should be as heavy and strong as is possible without being a defensive liability.

[Kolkmania]

It's just really hard to score from the post in a PO-esque setting. Suddenly there's way more contact allowed and you have to give Boston credit with their double teams, they're so well timed and versatile. It's easy to see the double team coming when we're sitting on the couch, but it's a whole different story when you're banging as hard as you can with Horford and suddenly someone shows up behind him.

I like playing from the post when you use it as a facilitating spot, not so much as a scoring option though. Strongly disagree that Embiid should simply bang harder with Horford "and impose his will".

[Kolkmania]

Whan an ugly game. Have we ever played the Celtics without Kevin McHale being a commentator? Ugh.

[gdog2004]

I disagree, he struggles against Horford because he tries to be too finesse. He has a massive advantage in size and strength over Horford, something you can’t coach. He needs to use it. When he starts settling for jumpers it’s exactly what the Celtics and Horford want. They don’t have to double team him, some everyone stays singled up defensively, making it harder to get open looks. They stay out of foul,trouble, and Horford saves energy spent in the defensive end and uses it on the offensive end. Embiid just needs to play against him like he does to everyone else. Go in strong and there wouldn’t be anything he could do about it. Only Embiid can stop Embiid by playing passively. He’s too big and strong.

He has an advantage in size, but not in strength, Embiid looks very strong in his upper body but when posting up against players with very strong base like Horford, he simply has a hard time moving them. He has chicken legs.

That's just not true. Embiid has good size everywhere, he is not posting up giant guys not named Horford without that strength.
There is a reason almost everyone else in the league can't deal with him, even big strong guys.
The problem Horford poses is he is strong too, not necessarily stronger than Embiid, but he has a lower center of gravity which makes him harder to move. It's like Oline blocking in football, whoever is lower wins.
Horford is also smart so that does not help.


THIS guy had chicken legs, Embiid is not like this.

[gdog2004]

Here’s the thing.

It’s a FACT that you wont get a good success rate banging Horford and getting his shots off against multiple celts defenders flying over his shot.

That said, why does he still force it? Don Quixote mentality?

He can shoot over Horford, he has that advantage. He can throw a hook over Horford.

If he can’t, then he’s not a superstar.

He is not a superstar. He is a star that struggles notably against certain centers. A superstar is a player that can't be stopped, or is very hard to stop.
To beat Horford, or atleast improve his success against him, he needs to abandon bully ball and stop trying to draw fouls against him, try to score by facing up, shoot over him or try to blow by him and use hooks, don't try to post him up. If there is a double team, kick it out.

That makes literally zero sense. Shooting contested mid range jumpers is the last thing you want to do. Trying to blow by players 3-4 inches shorter and 30 pounds lighter than him makes also not much sense. If he wants to become a dominant player he needs imo to embrace the post play. Which is why i dont get why people want him to lose weight. He should be as heavy and strong as is possible without being a defensive liability.

Weight does not equal strength, Horford gives him issues because he is strong and has a much lower center of gravity. What Bum is saying makes complete sense.