February 21, 2025
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images
Celtics reserve spark plug Payton Pritchard took full advantage of an unprepared, unfocused Sixers defense on Thursday night.
Once again, Paul George faced a crowd of reporters and was tasked with explaining an issue plaguing the Sixers. This time, the nine-time All-Star had to address a porous defensive performance which sunk the Sixers against the Boston Celtics for the second time this month in a horrid loss on Thursday night.
Why, for example, did a team that claims to be treating every game like a must-win contest so often find themselves scattered and out of sorts against a methodical, calculated opponent? And how did plays like this one become commonplace over 48 minutes?
With a chance to set their defense perfectly, the Sixers have no idea who is supposed to be guarding who. Payton Pritchard knocks down a three: pic.twitter.com/rrwMCDMco6
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 21, 2025
"Just talking. Communicating. That goes a long way," George said. "You've got to be dialed in... When you communicate more, trust one another in that communication, just be there for one another."
In this week's Friday film, a breakdown of the many ways the Sixers did not do that on Thursday:
Payton Pritchard is a nuclear three-point shooter. He is in Stephen Curry territory this season in terms of combining gargantuan volume from beyond the arc with terrific efficiency. He is capable of taking over a game with high-octane offense at any time, and he did just that against the Sixers, scoring 28 points thanks to an 8-for-15 shooting line from three-point range.
But this was not a matter of a brilliant shooter knocking down tough shots. Pritchard, who is more than capable of working for good looks, rarely had to do so. It was almost as if the Sixers' scouting report failed to mention that Pritchard is a three-point shooting threat.
Here is a supercut of all eight triples Pritchard cashed in against the Sixers. On how many of them do the Sixers appear to understand the caliber of shooter he is?
Everybody knows that Payton Pritchard is one of the highest volume three-point shooters in the NBA. The Sixers allowed him to shoot 15 threes and make eight of them. On how many of these does it look actually like the Sixers grasp how lethal Pritchard is? pic.twitter.com/IWwEb1ImDv
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 21, 2025
Boston's remarkable floor spacing, aided by two legitimate stretch fives, makes them an incredibly difficult matchup for bigs who do not move their feet particularly well. That spells disaster for Andre Drummond, whose first full season with the Sixers has very much not gone according to plan. But with the non-spacing seven-footer Luke Kornet emerging as a regular for the Celtics, there was an avenue for the Sixers to get Drummond into the game and not be exploited defensively...
...Or so they thought. Drummond's minutes were horrid for the Sixers, and even when he was matched up with Kornet he ended up lost on the perimeter frequently. Drummond opened the second quarter at center for the Sixers, and an avalanche of Celtics baskets ensued:
If there is any opportunity to survive Andre Drummond minutes against the Boston Celtics' offense, it is when they use the non-spacer Luke Kornet. Drummond and Kornet were matched up at times on Thursday, and the Sixers got absolutely shredded defensively: pic.twitter.com/LrSazLXYeB
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 21, 2025
Sometimes, the Sixers decide to leave a capable three-point shooter open for Boston, merely for the sake of preventing more intimidating scorers from beating them. And as Joel Embiid's mobility has diminished, that suboptimal strategy has become commonplace.
The beneficiary on two occasions was old friend Jrue Holiday, whose made triples were entirely uncontested — one off the dribble and one off the catch.
Jrue Holiday shot 2-3 from beyond the arc against the Sixers on Thursday. Both of his makes were entirely unguarded: pic.twitter.com/lejd5sJ4vU
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) February 21, 2025
Embiid has always been the backbone of the Sixers' defense. Can he move well enough with a damaged left knee to continue being viable in such a prominent position on that end of the floor?
"The way I was playing a year ago, it's not the way I'm playing right now," Embiid said. "It sucks."
MORE: Could Sixers trade Embiid and George over the summer?
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