Sixers ‘stayed together' and might be peaking just in time against Celtics 

It seems that the Sixers may have flipped a switch just before being flooded by darkness.

At times this season, the notion of all the team’s pieces one day clicking perfectly into place sounded highly improbable. That’s no longer the case after the Sixers responded to their gloomy Game 4 loss to the Celtics with two straight ultra-impressive wins. 

The Sixers’ 13-point margin of victory in Game 6 on Thursday night was perhaps a bit flattering to the Celtics, who trailed by as many as 23 and used an all-bench lineup for most of the fourth quarter. 

“I believe in this group,” Tyrese Maxey said after his 30-point performance. “We’ve been through a lot of adversity this year and last year. This is a tough group, man. We don’t quit. We don’t give up. We really like each other, enjoy being around each other and enjoy seeing each other be successful. That’s important.”

The Sixers needed a play-in tournament win to reach this first-round series. They played like the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed for the majority of the season, hinting at greatness but struggling to sustain anything resembling elite basketball. The team’s longest winning streak of the regular season was five games. The Sixers had a minus-4.5 net rating and 9-20 record against opponents with top-10 net ratings, per Cleaning the Glass. 

Fortunately for the Sixers, none of that’s especially relevant now. Every Sixer is available to play and most look like the best versions of themselves. 

Paul George has played an excellent series, including a sharpshooting, 23-point Game 6. Joel Embiid was two assists shy of a triple-double and unbothered by many of the Celtics’ double teams, committing only one turnover. Kelly Oubre Jr. played irritating, chaos-causing defense and also posted 14 points and nine rebounds. 

“We’re a confident group,” Oubre said. “We’re not a normal seven seed, obviously. At the end of the day, we have to play to our full potential (in Game 7). I’ll put all my eggs in that basket that we’ll be OK. We’ve just got to come and be ourselves.” 

The question of what the Sixers’ full potential is might not be answered yet. Embiid played 38 games during the regular season, George 37. Neither had good health seasons last year either. 

George’s refreshed, versatile play since returning from his 25-game suspension has been massive. The Sixers’ contention ambitions have always hinged on George making everyone else’s jobs a little easier. He’s done that with tireless defensive work on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, pivotal jumpers, and zero bad games in the series.  

“Before the suspension, I was kind of saving myself for games because of the soreness and I wanted to be as fresh as possible in games,” George said. “Any little thing that I thought was extra outside of practice would’ve carried over into a game where I wouldn’t be feeling my best. So there was a ton of rehab involved with that. Now I can focus on basketball. 

“I’m finally enjoying it now that I’m able to do things that I was able to do again. It’s fun for me again. To be honest, it’s like seeing who I am again. How can I be relevant again, or how can I chase some of the things that I was doing in my past? It’s been fun to be on the floor and kind of just learn new things about myself.”

Saturday night’s Game 7 will be the fourth of Embiid’s career. He’s 0-3 so far.

The first was the epitome of sports heartbreak. Kawhi Leonard’s quadruple-bouncing buzzer-beater won the series for the 2018-19 Raptors team that went on to earn the NBA title, led by current Sixers head coach Nick Nurse. Embiid’s last Game 7 was a 2023 blowout defeat in Boston. 

“We’re going to have to really dig in, focus and prepare, get ready for adjustments,” Nurse said. “We’re going to have to give a tremendous effort. Again, I think the effort of getting back, guarding the ball and blocking out needs to be at a tremendously high level. I think whichever team does that in this series wins. That will be the goal.

“It’s nice to win a couple in a row and it’s nice to play the way we did tonight, but it really does not matter. Each game’s its own game.”

Naturally, full availability for the Sixers does not equate to flawless health. 

Thursday night marked three weeks since Embiid underwent an appendectomy and mid-game injury scares still appear inescapable.

“I tell my brain that I feel amazing, so I feel amazing,” Embiid said with a smile. “Hopefully, my brain understands it, but sometimes it’s hard. Your body tells you something different. But I feel amazing.”

While Embiid is the longest-tenured Sixer by a wide margin, he’s at least developed decent familiarity with the team’s other core pieces. Maxey’s grown alongside him for six seasons. Oubre’s spent three years in Philadelphia and is an eager cutter off of Embiid’s post-ups. George and rookie VJ Edgecombe are glad to do dirty work, adapt to how opponents defend the Sixers’ stars, and let open jumpers fly. 

Although the Celtics have far more deep playoff experience, the Sixers sure haven’t been playing together like strangers. 

“We’ve had a lot of roster turnover over the years,” Embiid said. “We’ve got a team that doesn’t work once and then we decide to start over. I’ve obviously played with Tyrese for a little bit now, so we have that connection and we know what to do in every situation. Kelly has been here. PG has been great. Especially in these moments … just being calm and knowing what to do each time. 

“It’s fun competing. I’m excited. The one thing I’ll say is the fans have been amazing. Going into Boston, it’s going to be tough as always, but it’s a fun crowd. It’s fun making shots over there and everybody being quiet. … I’m just enjoying everything that I can. It’s fun winning. Got to keep this going.”

Embiid and the Sixers have surged down similar roads before and ran into devastation.

There’s a long way to go, starting Saturday in Boston. At a minimum, there’s a real possibility this time around will be different. 

“I just applaud the guys for not quitting,” George said. “We stayed together, we stayed confident, we stayed poised. We’ve given ourselves a chance here after being down 3-1 with an unbelievable opportunity to go play Game 7 in Boston, one of the most historic, best places to play a Game 7. We’re still alive. We’re still fighting, we’re still working, we’re still staying together. 

“We can be happy about that and proud of that as a group, that we’re connected in these moments and we’re giving it our best shot.”