NBA Matchups: April 19

I didn’t dig in as much today compared to Saturday, but Winky and I will be on the DFS Show again at 11:00 a.m. ET. Catch you guys then!

PHI @ BOS | PHX @ OKC | ORL @ DET | POR @ SAS

Philadelphia 76ers at Boston Celtics

Team Totals: 76ers 99.5, Celtics 113.5

Injury Report: Joel Embiid (O, appendectomy)

76ers projected starters: Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Paul George, Kelly Oubre Jr., Adem Bona

Celtics projected starters: Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta

Offensive Ranks: 76ers 17th (23rd halfcourt), Celtics second (fifth halfcourt)

Defensive Ranks: 76ers 17th (10th halfcourt), Celtics fifth (seventh halfcourt)

Season Series: 2-2

Noteworthy Missed Games: Jayson Tatum (4), Nikola Vucevic (3), Joel Embiid (2), Paul George (4)

Nurse quotes: Said the Magic really made it tough on Maxey and he was very good late in the game, said Bona sparked them in the second half and they played different defensive schemes with him, said the Celtics have been great all year and their core has been together for a while, said it’s a “tremendous challenge” to face the Celtics, said Edgecombe “was a little wild” and it was valuable for him to get a postseason game under his belt, said they were being more physical with their defense against the Magic.  

Mazzulla quotes: Said it’ll be a tough test against the 76ers, said they are going into the playoffs with a healthy team, said they have to be disciplined with guarding Maxey.

Team stats and notes:

*The 76ers are going to have to make some changes here against the Celtics. Philly has been giving up a ton of C&S because they are helping too much, which just isn’t an option against this 3-point output from the Celtics. Maybe Nick Nurse leans all the way into 3-point variance. On the year, the 76ers gave up the eighth-highest C&S rate to the Celtics during their matchups. It was basically on average with what they were giving up post-break when they gave up the highest C&S attempts. I’d expect the Celtics to get a ton of clean looks here. The Celtics also have a huge edge on the boards. The 76ers got wrecked on the boards against the Magic, and they’ve been getting killed for the last three weeks. Over their last 10 games, the 76ers were just 22nd in TRB% when they didn’t even have that tough of a schedule. The Celtics have dominated on the boards all year, and there should be some opportunity there for the frontcourt Celtics. For Boston’s defense, it starts with their rebounding and being the league’s best paint defense this season. The Celtics also don’t turn it over at all, with just 12.4 turnovers per game to lead the NBA, and that will keep the 76ers in the halfcourt. Nurse’s teams have always been effective at forcing turnovers and forced the ninth-most TOs this year, so maybe they can turn it up there. The Celtics are not giving up as much on C&S either, so the 76ers will just need a heroic performance from Tyrese Maxey and/or Paul George.

Player stats and notes:

*Tyrese Maxey has been very productive against the Celtics with a 30/5/9 line over 40.5 minutes per game this season (40 and 21 in the two Joel Embiid-less games). The Celtics will be throwing a slew of different defenders at him, with Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, and Baylor Scheierman getting some looks throughout this season. However, the Celtics may opt to put Jaylen Brown on him, letting White roam off the ball more. Boston may rotate some help because of how important it is for Maxey to have a big series. Maxey has been struggling a bit with his jumpers lately, which may be tied to his pinky. He’ll also have to produce in the halfcourt a ton because of Boston being a strong transition defense. I’d still expect him to have a strong series. 

*Paul George is likely seeing a ton of Jayson Tatum in this spot (maybe Brown), and George has been terrible in two games against the Celtics with just 17 and 12 points last year (he didn’t play against them this season). George has cooled off quite a bit from his hot return following the 25-game suspension, and he gets the worst matchup here.

*Kelly Oubre Jr. should get the best matchup with Sam Hauser probably guarding him a decent bit. He will also have to play a ton because the 76ers need wing defense in the worst way against Boston.

*VJ Edgecombe did pick up some nice handling against the Magic with 4.5 minutes of touch time (Maxey 10.4). The Celtics are probably going to put some Derrick White on him to roam a bit, and Boston will likely leave him open a little. He’s going to have his hands full, as he may have to guard Jaylen Brown. He’s still somewhat viable.

*Andre Drummond is in a tough spot here. The 76ers can’t really play a lot of drop against the Celtics, and they can run more defensive schemes with Adem Bona. The 76ers may also have to play Dominick Barlow at the 5 just to give them a better switch scheme.

*Jayson Tatum is all the way back from a fitness standpoint, and he hit 40 minutes for the first time on Thursday. Tatum’s frontcourt touches are on the rise now at 43.5 per game over his last four (ranks fifth). He also led the team in touch time over those games, too. The 76ers will be sending some help to Tatum, but it’s still a strong spot for him.