December 25, 2023
Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports
With Joel Embiid sidelined, Tyrese Maxey has his work cut out for him as he leads the Sixers into Miami for a Christmas Day matchup against the Eastern Conference's reigning champions.
The Sixers, winners of eight of their last nine contests, sit near the top of the Eastern Conference as they prepare to embark on a challenging road trip. With four games on tap, the Sixers have various obstacles in the way of them maintaining their recent stretch of excellent play.
Key: limit the "other guys"
The Sixers will take on Jimmy Butler's reigning Eastern Conference championship team in a primetime Christmas Day matchup, their first matchup against Miami this season. The Heat lost two pieces of last year's Finals team in Max Strus and Gabe Vincent — two players with penchants for torching the Sixers. But they are largely the same team they have always been. They have Butler, they have Bam Adebayo and they are as well-coached as it gets — reliant on production from a large collection of pieces.
Butler and Adebayo are remarkably consistent, forming one of the best duos in the association. Particularly with Joel Embiid sidelined due to an ankle injury, those two are going to get theirs. The key for the Sixers will be wiping out Miami's role players and forcing Butler and Adebayo to carry the load on their own.
Kyle Lowry, Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson are all shooting at least 43.5 percent from beyond the arc on significant volume. Kevin Love remains a threat from deep. Rookie Jaime Jacquez Jr. looks like one of the steals of the draft. Butler and Adebayo can't do it all themselves. Running Miami's lethal three-point shooters off the line will be paramount.
Key: protect the rim
The Orlando Magic, currently standing at 16-11, have been one of the most exciting teams in the NBA so far this season. Their youth movement has finally begin to yield results, with a rotation almost entirely consisting of young players leading them to a record well above .500.
As exciting as the Magic are, and as good as they are, they remain flawed. Most notably, they are 29th out of 30 in the NBA in three-pointers made, three-pointers attempted and three-point percentage. Former top overall pick Paolo Banchero is an improving shooter, as is Franz Wagner, but their roster is not exactly ripe with snipers.
The Magic win games because of their size and their defense. Playing physically will be imperative for the Sixers, and if Embiid plays, he will need to be at his best on the defensive end, because he will be facing an Orlando team that is largely fearless attacking the rim. They are third in the NBA in free throw rate — not only will Embiid have to alter shots at the rim if he plays, but Paul Reed will need to do the same while also avoiding getting into foul trouble — especially if he ends up starting.
This is a game where the Sixers can reap the benefits of the James Harden trade. Orlando is powered by Banchero and Wagner, two large wings who can handle the ball and are extremely skilled. The Sixers' best options defending those players are Nic Batum and Robert Covington. The team's newfound wing depth should help prepare them for this matchup.
Key: Create good looks from deep
Houston opened the season as one of the more surprisingly-good teams in the league. They have cooled off a bit since, but are still 14-12 with an elite defense. That elite defense is powered by their perimeter firepower — perhaps their most impressive feat is holding the opposition to a 31.7 three-point percentage to this point, easily the best figure in the NBA.
Maxey, the Sixers' best three-point shooter, will see a lot of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks. Maxey does not have much experience against Brooks, but he did torch VanVleet in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. Maxey was playing in a different role for a much different team, but he scored 21.7 points per game on 51.1/40.5/95.0 shooting splits in that six-game series.
The Sixers' recipe for cooking up open threes is pretty simple: get the ball to Embiid and let him orchestrate. Rockets center Alperen Sengun has quickly turned into a fantastic player, but he is at a noteworthy physical disadvantage against Embiid (as many players are). The Sixers need to take advantage of that and then let Embiid, as his old coach Brett Brown used to say, "quarterback the gym."
Key: get everyone involved
The Sixers took a surprising loss at the hands of the Bulls last Monday night, and it happened because Embiid and Maxey were the only Sixers who stepped up. They combined for 69 points, but the rest of the team scored just 35 in all, without a single player reaching double-digits.
"We have to try to get some other guys involved," Maxey said after the game.
The Bulls' defense is far from ironclad — in fact, it is exploitable. Perhaps their strongest characteristic is their ability to force turnovers, where they enter the week fifth-best in the NBA. If Embiid and Maxey can take care of their personal matchups — Embiid against Nikola Vucevic and Maxey against Chicago's collection of pesky guard defenders (Alex Caruso, Jevon Carter and Ayo Dosunmu), things should be easier for someone like Tobias Harris to attack the weaker links in Chicago's defense.
The Sixers' supporting characters have not done a whole lot of scoring in recent weeks, which is not a huge cause for concern when Embiid and Maxey are on the kind of heaters they are currently riding. But even those players are entitled to off nights, and when they come, the rest of the bunch better be ready to step up.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice
