76ers Stock Up, Stock Down After Preseason Loss vs. Celtics

Jaylen Brown was everywhere during the second quarter of the 76ers’ five-point loss to Boston on Friday night. He buried a lead-taking three to cap off a 22-6 run as Xfinity Mobile Arena roared in approval. The NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast camera turned to a smiling Tyrese Maxey, who was eager to check in. 

That little moment summarized how dangerous Philadelphia can become.

The 76ers (1-3) went cold against the Celtics (4-0), losing 125-120 in overtime to conclude the preseason. Philadelphia’s stars took the court for the second time together and showed flashes of a versatile offensive attack. But the 76ers continued to endure the struggles you’d expect from a team that is welcoming seven new players to the standard roster.

Here’s the stocks that went up and down tonight:

Stock Up

Joel Embiid

The 2022-23 Most Valuable Player led all scorers with 27 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. Philadelphia involved Embiid early, feeding him in the post. This was a different approach than the last time the 76ers’ stars played—when the offense ran through LeBron James versus the Nets on Oct. 8.

Embiid developed a rhythm, feasting on an undersized Celtics defense that had no answer. He shot 11-13 from the free-throw line and made the correct read whenever Boston doubled, tallying five assists. Embiid was equally as effective without the ball, using a pass from Brown to hit a trail three and a corner three in the third quarter.

The 32-year-old erased memories of his six-point, eight-turnover performance against the Nets and looks to be in good shape entering the regular season.

The offense

Philadelphia shot 18.4% from beyond the arc, but that’s not reflective of the shots it created. The 76ers aggressively shared the ball at a fast tempo, with Maxey, Brown, James, and Embiid willing to do different things. Maxey did more off-the-catch work, Brown took spot-up threes, and James popped to the elbow in two-man actions with Maxey. 

Philadelphia’s execution wasn’t perfect, but it showed how layered the offense can become. All four stars scored at least 20 points, except James, who posted eight points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The depth

It’s safe to say that Labaron Philon Jr. (11 points and five assists), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (seven points), and Jabari Walker (13 points and two steals) can be trusted in rotation to varying degrees.

Philon’s steady ball-handling, Walker’s physicality and motor, and Caldwell-Pope’s perimeter defense are all useful tools as the 76ers prepare for the Knicks on October 20.

Stock down

The defense

Philadelphia’s perimeter defense was decent; it was the rim protection that raised concern.

The Celtics scored 18 points in the paint during the first quarter, which primarily came when the 76ers’ starters were on the court. Philadelphia’s help rotations lagged and Embiid, at this stage of his career, can only cover so much ground at the rim.

Granted, the 76ers were without VJ Edgecombe (rest), whose athleticism and anticipation will boost this unit. Philadelphia seemed to improve when Dean Wade played. The forward played six of his 13 minutes in the second frame, when the 76ers limited Boston to 24 points.

Philadelphia’s road to defensive success will be through event creation and physical point-of-attack stoppage—things that will take time to grow.

The rebounding

The 76ers struggled off the glass all preseason and Friday wasn’t an exception. Boston recorded 18 offensive rebounds and converted them into 26 second-chance points. Philadelphia lacked the size to fend off a Celtics team littered with quality positional rebounders. This was an issue when Embiid or Walker were on the floor.

The 76ers should marginally improve in this regard come the regular season, assuming Dominick Barlow (back) and Adem Bona (left foot sprain) are good to go.

Ball security

As I said, Philadelphia moved the ball—maybe a little too frantically.

The 76ers registered 18 turnovers that Boston turned into 22 points. The Celtics read passes well, but Philadelphia’s mistakes were mostly due to underdeveloped chemistry. James turned the ball over four times because teammates weren’t in the right position to catch the pass.

When the 76ers get a month or so of experience under their belt, this issue should practically disappear. It must, given Philadelphia’s historic trouble defending in transition—something that might continue given the age of some marquee players. But this is what the preseason is for.

The 76ers have three rest days to plot revenge against the Knicks on Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. ET.