First impression a good one for Embiid, Rivers
If there were any questions about how Joel Embiid would respond to a new coach in charge, the early returns for the 76ers are promising.
Embiid scored 18 points in the first half of the exhibition opener Tuesday night, a 108-99 win over the Celtics, looking every bit an MVP candidate in his first-half shift.
Embiid was 6-for-14 from the field. He added three rebounds, two assists and two steals, playing just
17 minutes. Embiid saw few doubleteams in the post and did most of his damage there, weathering an
0-for-4 day from 3-point range. “That was a great example, that we ran our stuff, but we didn’t run his stuff, and he still had 18,” coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s one of the things I was telling him: We can run continuity offense and not run any plays for you, but you’re still going to end up with the ball because you’re the best player. You’ll see that happen, and that did happen tonight. And I think that was great thing for Joel.”
Rivers said pregame that he planned on “as close to normal” a first-half workload for Embiid as possible and little to nothing in the second half. It ended up as nothing. Dwight Howard, who Rivers said was “phenomenal” in his Sixers debut, started the second half in Embiid’s place.
Ben Simmons, the other half of the Sixers’ big pairing, was active off the dribble with 10 points and six assists. Tobias Harris, who tied Simmons with a game-high 26 minutes, added 16 points and nine rebounds. The Sixers shot 47.6 percent from the field in the first half (21
for-43) and 20-for-31 on 2-pointers
(64.5 percent) in the opening half. “For not really having any players put in or calling any plays, I think we did really well, just moving the ball,” Simmons said. “Doc has been a great coach so far, just letting us play, giving ua instructions on how you want to play, moving the ball, cutting, making guys guard you and finding the open man.”
Shake Milton, who started the second half in Danny Green’s place, led all scorers with 19 points in 23 minutes, including 3-for-6 from 3-point range on a night where the Sixers shot 7-for-29 from deep.
“He was great, and that’s what we need from him,” Rivers said. “We need him to be Shake every night. I tell him literally every day, ‘be Shake, be Shake.’ I probably have said that 15 times already, and I thought tonight, he did that. He was very comfortable, under control, didn’t force a lot of shots. He was fantastic.”
The Sixers also did the job defensively, albeit against a poor shoot
ing Celtics team. Jayson Tatum shot 3-for-10 in the first half, with Jaylen Brown at 1-for-11. For the night, the two combined to shoot
5-for-24 from the field (1-for-9 from
3-point range) for 15 points. Veteran Jeff Teague led the Celtics with 18 points in 19 minutes off the bench, hitting all four of his 3-point looks. Rookie Payton Pritchard added 16 points.
NOTES » Rivers used 11 players through the first three quarters, including a minor shift for big man Tony Bradley, and 16 in total. Two of the team’s three 2020 draft picks, Tyrese Maxey and Isa
iah Joe, saw time in the fourth quarter. Maxey scored eight points and dished three assists in 12 minutes. “He’s a good player,” Rivers said. “He’s going to push for minutes because he’s a good basketball player.” Teams will likely have an expanded roster of 15 players to work with this season, as has been recommended by the NBA Competition Committee and subject to approval by the Board of Governors this week. … The Sixers knelt during the national anthem as a team. Rivers said pregame that he hadn’t spoken to the team about it and that the decision was in the players’ hands.