The Way The Celtics Continue To Bully The Sixers Is Starting To Feel A Little Mean. Actually Nevermind, It Still Rules

Adam Glanzman. Getty Images.

Listen, bullying is a very real problem in this country, and I think most people would agree that as a society, we need to work together to put an end to it. 

At the same time, few things are more enjoyable than watching the Celts continue to bully the Sixers every chance they get. With Embiid, without Embiid, it never matters. After last night's ass kicking, it's marked the 5th win in 6 games against the Sixers since Game 6 last year, and dating back to last season the Celts have won 6 of 8 regular season matchups. As Joel Embiid famously said, this is not a rivalry, the Celts always kick their ass.

And listen, it's not really the player's fault. It's Daryl Morey's fault. He's the one who builds this roster, and year after year after year it's the same problem for PHI when it comes to this matchup. If you can't guard the Jays, you stand no shot. Again, this isn't just a Sixers problem, this is an everyone in the NBA problem and all you have to do is look at this current Celts 9 game winning streak

Which team in that graphic has the perimeter length/wing defenders to check both Tatum and Brown (not even getting to KP yet)? None of them do, which is why the 9 wins in a row isn't all that shocking. 

When it comes to the Sixers, you'd think they'd realize what their biggest problem is when it comes to beating the Celts, yet they never seem to address it. Your wing additions of Buddy Hield and Kelly Oubre Jr are guarding who exactly? We already know Tobias Harris can't guard either guy, Tyrese Maxey is too small, and switching to Nick Nurse hasn't mattered one bit because this is a roster issue for the Sixers, not a strategy issue. We've seen these same results in games Embiid plays in, we've seen these same results with every version of The Process you want to choose, and it all starts with the fact that this is simply a bad matchup for PHI given how their roster is constructed. I think the sample size is large enough to come to that conclusion.

Games like this combined with the current stretch between these two teams do a great job of explaining why Sixers fans get so triggered and do nothing but slander Jayson Tatum online. It's their way of coping. You would do the same thing if the same player kept bullying the shit out of you every time you played him. Quite frankly, he owns that franchise and that fanbase. I'm sorry if that offends, but not really.

While there's definitely less juice blowing out an Embiid-less Sixers, that doesn't mean it still isn't fun as shit, so let's just hop right into it.

The Good

- Pretty obvious where we are starting today. As the top of the blog mentioned, this was yet another example of the Sixers having absolutely no shot at containing either Jay. Same shit different day in that regard, and we'll start with the performance of Jaylen Brown

You want to talk about someone who came back from the All Star break locked the fuck in, that's exactly what Jaylen has done in these three games. They say leadership starts at the top, and both the Jays have shown to be extremely locked in for this stretch run of the season. Through last night we're seeing Jaylen throw up

27/6/3 with just 2.0 TOs on 62/43% splits

and this includes games where he barely took a shot in the 2nd half combined with plus defense both on and off ball. His 31/6 on 11-14 (1-2) led all scorers, he also got to the FT line 10 times (made 8), and for the 3rd game in a row has put the Celts offense on his back in the first half (18 points). 

With no rim protection and no perimeter defenders to give him any resistance, I would like you to look at Jaylen's shot chart from this game. Does this look like a guy who was settling, or does it look like a guy who repeatedly bullied the Sixers every chance he had

We may never see a shot chart like this from Jaylen again if I'm being honest. He got out in transition, he worked out of the post, he drove with purpose, it was all great. I wouldn't say it was perfect, there were definitely some tough TOs mixed in, but I also would say Jaylen was getting a pretty suspicious whistle when it came to going at smaller players. But when Jaylen is consistently putting that type of pressure on the rim, it changes everything about how a team can defend the Celts.

The whole goal is to force defenses into rotation, force them to make a decision defensively, and exploit mismatches. That's precisely what Jaylen did and at no point did you ever get the sense that the Sixers had an answer for it.

- As we know, what makes the Celtics so devastating is that one moment you have to deal with Jaylen Brown dropping an efficient 31, and then before you even know what's happening, you have Jayson Tatum doing this

Ho hum, just 29/11/8 on 9-20 for Tatum as well as 10-11 from the FT line to go along with just 1 TO. Just like Jaylen, Tatum got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. 

While he took more 3PA, the overall feel of his approach was pretty much the same. No rim protection, no resistance on the perimeter so what did Tatum do? He attacked. When it came time to win the game and the score within 2 in the 4th quarter, please look at how Tatum responded

He said enough was enough and did what he so often does, which is bury the Sixers with ease. His 13 points over the final handful of minutes are what gave the Celts their final separation, and what I loved most about his performance last night was nothing was forced. For 85% of the game, Tatum played within the offense. He was moving the ball (5 first quarter AST), played good defense, hit the glass, and when it came time for the #1 guy to do some #1 guy shit, he was more than willing to step up to the challenge.

It's not exactly a hot take to suggest the Celts are going to win a whole lot of games when the Jays combine for 60, and that's exactly what is going to continue to happen any time they play a team that doesn't have the bodies to match up consistently over a 48 minute game. All you can really do is pray they have a cold shooting night, but when they can use their size, strength and speed to just bully their way to the rim/get to the FT line, even an off shooting night might not be enough.

- The thing is, this is only part of the equation. Watching the Jays dominate the Sixers with ease isn't exactly new, but what is new is the addition of the 7'3 unicorn. You see, defenses need to be so focused on stopping the Jays that you don't even realize there's also this basketball unicorn you have to deal with as well, which as you can imagine, the Sixers didn't have the bodies to match up with either

Just a little 23/12 on 5-12 (1-2) with a perfect 12-12 from the line for KP in his 31 minutes. If you're still wondering why Porzingis can't help but smile at all times since he got to this team in June, a game like this is a great example. His life is incredible right now. The space that the Jays provide him is unlike anything he's ever had before in his career. His ability to dominate at all three levels is what has taken the Celts to a new level, which of course is the best team KP has ever played on.

In a game where KP only took 2 3PA and still had over 20 because of his ability to crush opponents in the most combined with his ability to draw fouls is what makes this team feel so different from previous versions of Celts teams. This is the diversification that their offense needed, and it certainly doesn't hurt that any time KP touches the ball below the FT line it's essentially guaranteed points. But then, if you give him space from 35ft, he has the skillset to bury that in your eyeball as well.

As a defense, what the hell are you supposed to do? If you don't put enough focus and energy into slowing down the Jays, they drop 60 on you. If you do, it opens up things for KP to crush you, and we haven't even gotten to the guards yet! No matter where you look on the court, it's a matchup nightmare.

- The Celts finish the month of February 9-1. They have not lost a game in 27 days. Is that good? That feels good. 

- One of the biggest questions you'll hear when it comes to this team is

"What will they do if they don't make a billion 3s? Can they still win?"

Well, the Celts shot just 5-22 from deep last night. It's their lowest 3PA total in like 3 years, and easily their lowest 3PM of the season. 

The Celtics still scored 119 points and won by 18 points. 

So no, this is not a 3pt merchant team. Unfortunately, despite what national pundits and radio shows that don't actually watch this team want you to believe, the Celtics do not "only shoot 3s". They can beat you however the hell they need to given that specific game. 

We know this because so far this season the Celts are 12-10 when shooting under 35% from deep as a team. Compare that to last year's 15-19, I'd say that's a pretty substantial improvement. Stuff like this matters of course for a playoff run when things get tight and you may have to find other ways to win outside of just blowing teams out with 3s. The 2023-24 Celts can do that, and this game was what it looks like.

I want you to listen to how Joe talked about this approach, because it does a great job of illustrating what his philosophy is.

- It's not very often you see a 56-28 rebounding difference, but then again that's to be expected when the opponent shoots just 39/33%. Outside of Tyrese Maxey who had an efficient 32, all other Sixers starters combined to shoot just 7-36 (4-16). 

While most of the focus recently has been on the Celts offense, do not sleep on what we're seeing defensively during this streak. The 4th best defense in the league, rarely giving up 30 point quarters, keeping team after team to under 110 points, it's great to see the Celts starting to lock in defensively against these easier teams as we prepare for a much tougher stretch next week once they go out West. 

Embiid or no Embiid, holding an NBA team to under 100 points in 2024 is impressive. I don't care who it comes against.

- Remember how bad it felt like the Celts played in 3rd quarters, especially offensively? Well, guess who is now 10th in the NBA in 3rd quarter offense to go along with their 4th ranked 3rd quarter defense? 

Your Boston Celtics.

On the season, they are now 6th in +/- in that quarter, and things have been even better recently. In the month of February, that number is +7.1, which is good for 2nd in the NBA. To me, the Celts figuring out how to be a devastating 3rd quarter team is the final piece. I want them to find a way to get as close as possible to that Warriors Dynasty dominance in the 3rd quarter, which is when you usually got their death blow.

That's what happened in the 3rd quarter last night, and I don't want to get ahead of myself, but those Warriors? The ones who are 10-3 in February? They just so happened to be 3rd in the NBA in +/- in the 3rd quarter at +6.5……so we're basically seeing the Celts unleash their own version and it's made all the difference in the world.

- Nothing like a beautiful 17-0 run to effectively end a game. Please enjoy

- Not to be lost in the shuffle was the play of Jrue Holiday. Nothing crazy, just an efficient 13/7/4 on 6-8 (1-1), and outside of that brief CTE stretch I thought Holiday was great in his role again last night. Same thing with Derrick too. This game wasn't a night where they needed the scoring, so instead the two decided to combine for 5 blocks. Not bad considering the Sixers as an entire team only had 5 blocks themselves.

I thought Holiday's bucket to end the Sixers 4th quarter run was huge, and I thought Derrick's role as a playmaker (6 AST) and defender was key to this team locking find defensively.

- 34-37 from the FT line is the good shit. My favorite part about this was seeing so many Sixers fans now complaining about fouls. What is it they used to say when Embiid would take more FTA than an entire team? Stop fouling? Weird how they suddenly have a problem when they have to deal with the other end of it isn't it? 

Maybe stop fouling and the Celts won't take 37 FTA. Just a thought.

The Bad

- I didn't exactly love the start, mostly because the Celts were allowing the Sixers to hang around because their problem areas showed up. Offensive rebounds leading to second chance points, poor transition defense, and worst of all, points off TOs.

When you're playing a team that stinks, letting them hang around because you're lazy or careless is asking for trouble. It's why this was a game at the half, and it's why the Sixers went on another run to start the 4th quarter.

So when people ask me what my concerns are for the playoffs it's the same as it is every year.

Offensive rebounds. Transition defense. Turnovers.

When the Celts handle their shit in those areas, they never lose. When they fuck around? That's how series go longer than they should, which is more wear and tear and leaves you more open to an upset. It's no surprise that once the Celts started rebounding, started getting back in transition, and cut out their TOs, they blew this game wide open.

It sounds maybe too simple, but those are really the only things that can bury this team. They've found a way to win without 3s, they've found a way to win with guys in and out of the lineup. But to me, that's the holy trinity when it comes to wins and losses. 

- One thing to keep an eye on is how Maxey was able to slice and dice against the slower defenders. Against Jrue/White, he was mostly ineffective, just a combined 3-9. His damage came from getting Hauser and KP in space, where he was 6-10.

This matters because in a playoff series, it's all about attacking mismatches. Teams are going to attack the slower Celts defenders until they can stop it, especially a player like Maxey. His ability to turn the corner and get downhill is real, and he's great an finishing through contact.

- Tatum's tech might have been the softest tech I've ever seen, and even more embarrassing was the fact that Cam Payne did the exact same wave motion….only to not get a tech. That's the consistency that we love from NBA officiating baby! 

The Ugly

- You know the drill by now. Until this team loses again, we avoid this section like the plague. As a treat.

Unfortunately, we now have to live through another 2 day break before Luke/Kyrie come to town on Friday night. You're kidding yourself if you don't think there's some MVP narratives at stake as a result of that game, and considering the Celts had Luka in hell in their win in DAL earlier this year, my guess is he'll be pretty motivated. The good news is the Celts are absolutely locked in right now and it doesn't really seem like they are slowing down anytime soon.