Paul George Steals the Show and Jayson Tatum Outplays Jaylen Brown as Celtics Demolish 76ers
The Tuesday night showdown featuring the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers hosting the second place Boston Celtics was marketed as a battle between former teammates Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but Paul George took center stage with a game-high 36 points to lead the Celtics to a 123-101 win. The 9-2 Celtics now have the Eastern Conference's best record, and are tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the second best record overall, trailing only the 10-2 L.A. Lakers.
George--who the Celtics acquired from the 76ers last summer in exchange for Brown and four draft picks--shot 14-22 from the field, including 6-11 from three point range. Tatum, whose attempt to greet Brown right before the opening tip-off was ignored by Brown, finished with 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Payton Pritchard (18 points on 7-15 field goal shooting) and Sam Hauser (12 points in 18 minutes) made strong contributions off of the bench. It is easy to be distracted by Boston's three point shooting (22-49, .449), but it is more significant that the Celtics held the 76ers' star-studded lineup to 33-79 (.418) field goal shooting. Three point shooting is high variance, but defense travels and defense wins championships--that was true when Bill Russell led the Celtics to 11 titles in 13 seasons, it was true even during the run and gun 1980s (the 1984-85 "Showtime" L.A. Lakers ranked fifth in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage), it was true in the 1990s and 2000s, and it is still true today.
Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers' best and most reliable player, scored a team-high 24 points on 8-12 field goal shooting, but he received little help from his veteran teammates. Joel Embiid limped, flopped, and fell to 16 points on 2-9 field goal shooting--and his defense was worse than his anemic offense. LeBron James, who loves to point out that he can do anything on a basketball court, spent most of this game missing shots while having minimal defensive impact: he scored 11 points on 4-12 field goal shooting and did not register a steal or a blocked shot.
Brown likes to turn the spotlight on himself, so his performance deserves a separate paragraph. Brown--who recently said that he does not have any beef with Tatum but may have some "lamb chops and gravy" and warned that Tatum "should stay ready at all times"--had 13 points on 4-9 field goal shooting, and nearly achieved a "Harden" (a game with more turnovers than field goals made) with a game-high four turnovers. Brown had the game's worst plus/minus number (-27) by far, followed by James (-17). Brown refused to look Tatum in the eye before the game, failed to compete on his level during the game, and left the court without acknowledging Tatum after the game. Brown acts like he is a victim because the Celtics traded him after giving him a record-setting contract providing generational wealth, but his self-absorbed comments followed by subpar play provide indicators why the Celtics decided to part ways with him.
Tatum set the tone early with 11 first quarter points as the Celtics led 30-23 by the end of the opening stanza, and then George took over with 13 second quarter points to help put the Celtics on top 62-51 by halftime. The 76ers outscored the Celtics 31-29 in the third quarter, but the Celtics opened the fourth quarter with a 14-0 run to push the margin to 105-82. George scored 14 fourth quarter points, and Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse waved the white flag at the 5:15 mark, benching his five starters with Boston enjoying a 111-87 lead.
I am not a huge George fan, and I will admit that on the surface it seemed strange for the Celtics to trade the younger, more accomplished Brown for George, but the early returns suggest that the Celtics will be just fine without Brown. The Celtics still shoot too many three pointers--and that may very well contribute to their playoff demise, as it has in the past two seasons after they won the 2024 NBA title--but they rank second in defensive field goal percentage and second in points allowed. Tatum is an All-NBA First Team caliber player, so if George continues to play at or near All-Star level and the role players continue to do their jobs then the Celtics will maintain their perch in the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.
The 76ers are a "super team" on paper, but it is not clear how well their stars will mesh over the course of a long regular season and potentially grueling playoff run. James and Embiid are former regular season MVPs and scoring champions, and James and Brown are former NBA Finals MVPs, but the 76ers' offense is clunky, and Embiid is a shell of his former self: he is shooting 54-146 (.370) from the field in 10 games this season, including 4-33 (.121) from three point range. His offensive game has devolved into baiting defenders into fouling him, and then falling down to exaggerate the contact.
Even more concerning than the 76ers' shaky offense is that their good early season defense is starting to look like a mirage: they lost 119-95 to the mediocre Cleveland Cavaliers last Friday, and their defense versus the Celtics was horrific: the 76ers lack size other than Embiid, and Embiid is a traffic cone defensively who smart teams will relentlessly target in screen/roll actions and any other actions that pull him out of the paint and into open court situations where his lack of mobility is brutally exposed. It does not seem likely that Embiid and James can make it through a full season healthy, let alone be in any condition to play championship level defense for an extended playoff run. The 76ers will win a decent amount of regular season games just by relying on talent, particularly since the Eastern Conference does not appear to be nearly as strong as some people had projected, but it is difficult to picture the 76ers winning a seven game series against an elite team, let alone winning the four playoff series required to capture an NBA title.
Labels: Boston Celtics, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, LeBron James, Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers, Tyrese Maxey
posted by David Friedman @ 4:25 PM
