By the time Washington center Thomas Bryant had torn through the last game of the regular season, and his Wizards had won their first game in the Orlando bubble over a team of Celtics reserves and rookies, a far greater specter had arisen — the Sixers.
It’s the team of Joel Embiid, now that Ben Simmons has had season-ending knee surgery, with Al Horford back in the starting lineup for the last five games since the point guard’s injury. Stripped of Simmons’ singular ability to drive one of the most powerful transition offenses in the NBA, it’s a team that will attack a Celtics weakness — interior defense.
And even at that Embiid has recently been plagued by ankle and thumb issues. But even before the Sixers looked like the Celtics’ likely first round opponent, the Celtics’ coaches were deep into their playoff preparation.
“We’ve been looking at Philly obviously with the idea they’re a likely opponent,” Stevens said after the Celtics’ 96-90 loss at Washington for a 5-3 bubble record. “They’re a heckuva team. In the games Simmons hasn’t played they’re the No. 1 offense in the league. The spacing, the shooting around Embiid posting, playing big with Embiid and Al, small with one of those two guys at the five and a bunch of shooters around them, makes them very tough, super physical, well-coached, good basketball team, obviously everybody talks about their front court and rightfully so with (Tobias) Harris/Horford, and Embiid, but they have a lot of good players on that team.”
Stevens is also awaiting news of when the Celtics will start this first round series, either on Monday or Tuesday.
“I think everybody is pretty familiar with each other by the end of the season, though we’ve all changed a little,” said the Celtics coach. “We’ve been working on potential playoff opponents for awhile, as everyone else has. It’s not unique to us. We’ll get ready to play on Monday or Tuesday. The biggest thing we’d like to know like everyone else is which day we’re playing, because that will impact our practice plans and all that stuff.”
Horford has never been more important to the 76ers: It’s been a tumultuous, occasionally angry season for Philadelphia, and Horford’s fluctuating role reflected as much, eventually moving to the bench as Simmons and Embiid attempted to sort out their chemistry issues.
But Horford’s playmaking — a quality his former Celtics teammates know all about — has never been more vital now that Simmons is done.
“Starting alongside Embiid the last few games I’ve watched, Al’s an excellent player,” said Stevens. “Al knows how to play, an excellent player at both ends. He understands what they’re trying to accomplish as a team. Obviously had great regular season and playoff moments for us. We obviously have the utmost respect for him and understand all the things he brings to the table.”
Said Semi Ojeleye: “Watching Al for the last couple of years was great and playing against him is going to be good as well. We have to be ready. We know he’s a high-caliber player who can hurt you in the post or from the outside, so we have to prepare for him especially. He’s a big part of their team, so we have to know and be aware that he’s going to be involved in a lot of what they’re doing.”
Just when Romeo Langford appeared to have a playoff role, he hurts his right (shooting) wrist: The talented rookie wing’s time as a Celtic has been marked by a lot of down time, but no injury could have worse timing that the onethat had him back in the trainer’s room during Thursday’s fourth quarter. Langford, who appeared to injure the wrist during a fall Tuesday against Memphis, thus has an uncertain status. He was playing well in the bubble, and appeared headed for a playoff role in particular thanks to his work in the defensive end.
So up steps Javonte Green: The Celtics’ other athletic rookie wing, who, given freer reign, crammed his usual assortment of dunks and 3-pointers into Thursday’s 23-point performance. Whether this translates into a playoff role — the one Langford was being measured for — remains unclear.
“I thought we had a few guys who played really hard,” said Stevens. “Javonte was obviously at the top of that list. He played with great intensity at both ends of the floor, was trying to do the right stuff offensively and did some really good stuff on the glass defensively. I thought Javonte did a really good job as well as some other individuals who played well. We’re going to need everybody before we’re done.”
The Celtics big man rotation now gets to prepare for the Embiid onslaught: Now that Embiid and Horford are starting as a big tandem, the oft-dented Celtics interior has to brace for what will be the toughest matchup of the series. Daniel Theis didn’t play Thursday, Enes Kanter made a token start and had eight points and five rebounds in 18 minutes, and the player who is perhaps the greatest Celtics story of the bubble — Rob Williams — only played six minutes but managed to make all three of his shots.
All three will be thrown at Embiid, except when the Sixers center starts searching out those 3-pointers. That would be exactly what the Celtics want him to do.