3 Sixers storylines to watch for opening-night matchup in Boston originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Joel Embiid, Furkan Korkmaz and Shake Milton are the only Sixers left from the last time the team began its season in Boston.
Embiid scored 23 points, Korkmaz played 87 garbage-time seconds, and Milton was still over a month away from his NBA debut when the Sixers fell to the Celtics on Oct. 16, 2018.
Since then, the Sixers have gone 3-0 in openers. They’ve beaten the Celtics and Wizards at home and the Pelicans on the road. Instead of Ben Simmons, Markelle Fultz, Robert Covington and Dario Saric, Embiid is expected to start Monday night alongside James Harden, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and P.J. Tucker.
Here are three storylines to watch for the latest Sixers-Boston meeting at TD Garden, which will tip off at 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT:
How much can Sixers clean up?
The Kings and Sixers were the only unbeaten NBA teams this preseason.
For the Sixers, the lack of losses obviously did not equate to flawless performances.
“Defensively, I thought we started (high) in the first preseason game, and I thought we went down, not up,” head coach Doc Rivers said Sunday. “I thought we backed off of our pressure a lot as each game went, which we can’t do. … I thought we started having unscripted switches, which we can’t do, as well. And then the last thing is I thought we stopped rebounding. So that’s going to be a big thing for us.”
The Sixers believe they can play a more aggressive brand of defense than last year without fretting a ton about rebounding woes. The team finished the preseason tied for first in defensive turnover percentage and ninth in defensive rebounding percentage, according to Cleaning the Glass.
Effort shouldn’t be a problem, but making precise, rapid rotations might be for a team with several significant new pieces in Tucker, De’Anthony Melton, Danuel House Jr. and Montrezl Harrell. Solid defense on the ball would help the Sixers ease into a new season. That’s a tough ask against the defending Eastern Conference champions.
The health picture
No Sixers appeared on the NBA’s official injury report Monday night.
While that won’t last forever, the Sixers will at least hope injuries don’t pile up for their key players. Harden last year dealt with left hamstring tightness. Embiid suffered multiple injuries during the postseason, including an orbital fracture and a torn ligament in his right thumb. Harris played through a right shoulder injury for much of the season. Tucker underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee this summer and doesn’t feel he’s back to 100 percent yet.
“Only when he gets beat off the dribble, he blames his knee. That’s what we’ve noticed,” Rivers joked. “I think it’s going to take time. He’s in really good shape overall but in his mind, he needs to get in better condition just because you can’t run when you have a surgery like that. It was minor, but he still is working on that. His timing honestly is pretty good, so I’m happy with that.”
We’ll get an early sense Monday for how willing the Sixers will be to push their veterans’ minutes in the regular season.
Will Embiid feast?
Boston’s Danilo Gallinari and Robert Williams III are both out following knee surgeries.
Without Williams, the Celtics look poised to lean on Al Horford defensively against former teammate Embiid. We imagine heavy double teams will feature in interim Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla’s game plan, too.
Based on what he’s experienced practicing against Embiid, Paul Reed thinks the five-time All-Star will do well when doubles come.
“I think we can expect Jo to be a much better passer this year,” Reed said. “I think he’ll probably be a lot more dominant. … Just expect him to be a better passer, a better leader, and probably more engaged defensively, just because everybody else on the court is going to up the tempo so much more this year. It’s going to be fun.”