76ers don’t have time to dwell on their in-season tournament loss

An airball. That’s what saved the Philadelphia 76ers from overtime and possibly missing the opportunity to redeem themselves from the Boston Celtics, the team that beat them in game 7 of the 2022-2023 season Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Kristaps Porziņģis had already lost his defender when he set his feet for the three pointer. With a 29-point game-high and a 36 career shooting percentage from downtown, the 76ers just got lucky with the 106-103 win.

While there’s no telling what would have happened had they gone into overtime, you can make a pretty good guess based on the 13-2 Celtics run in the final two minutes.

They clash again

The two Eastern Conference powerhouses meet again on Nov 16 at 12:30:00 AM UTC at the Wells Fargo Center. This clash promises to be a thrilling encounter, with both teams boasting impressive 8-2 records and the Celtics looking to avenge their loss and take the top position.

Celtics come from three consequtive wins. They’ve bounced back impressively after two consequtive losses to the Timberwolves on Nov 7 and the Sixers on Nov 9. They beat the Nets by 14, the Raptors by 23, and the Knicks by 16. Tatum, Brown and Kristaps Porziņģis scored at least 20 in the last two games.

Sixers are coming from a 132-126 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the in-season tournament. However, because they have lost a few players to injuries and other issues, they don’t have time to dwell on that.

They must focus on regrouping and adapting their game plan for the upcoming match.

Injuries

The Sixers recently lost Kelly Oubre to a broken rib and Nicolas Batum is dealing with a personal issue.

Now, as they get ready to face the Celtics, they might be without Embiid and Harris. Embiid is listed as questionable with left hip soreness and the status of Harris, who seemed to strain his neck after colliding with Bruce Brown in the first minutes of the fourth quarter, is unclear.

These are massive losses because they need all the manpower they can get to stop Tatum and Brown.

However, Tyrese Maxey continues to fill Harden’s void seamlessly. He ranks top-10 in box plus-minus, averages 28.4 PPG and 7 APG, and shoots 43% from three and 50% from the field. There’s also Tobias Harris, who averages 19.9 PPG and shoots 57% from the field.

Celtics might play without Porziņģis. The seven-foot-three center is listed as questionable with a right knee contusion. Celtic’s injury report also listed Neemias Queta as questionable, which is a positive development as he has missed the last eight games due to injury management.

You can expect this to be an intense game.