Watch Philadelphia 76ers @ Boston Celtics live on Sky Sports Mix in the early hours of Friday morning (1am)
Thursday 12 December 2019 11:54, UK
Sky Sports NBA analyst Mike Tuck offers three takes on the Philadelphia 76ers as they prepare to face the Boston Celtics.
I think head coach Brett Brown is still trying to search for an identity for this 76ers team. The Sixers are extremely strong at home, but they have really been struggling on the road. You can see that from the line-ups he has been using over the last couple of weeks.
With Josh Richardson out, they have been digging deep into the bench, playing up to 10 guys in their rotation. I think they are still trying to find what works for them.
At the end of the day, they've invested in Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid on long-term deals. They need to surround them with people who can run the floor, people who can defend and people who can spread the floor out.
With the floor spread, Embiid could go to work more in the post and Simmons could exploit open lanes that give him passing options or allow him to finish at the rim.
But then, they are still getting the job done. They have won 18 games and are unbeaten at home. They remain a very interesting team to me. But they have to cut down that rotation and find the line-ups that will give them what they need.
Who is the superstar who will close out games for the Sixers? This is something I think Philly have struggled with for some time.
Is it Ben Simmons? He is a pretty one-dimensional player, can you put the ball in his hands at the end of the game? Is it Embiid, who clearly wants that role? With his size, the position he plays and the way he shoots the three-ball, I don't think it can be him.
The next guy in line is Tobias Harris, but is he worried about stepping on the toes of Simmons and Embiid?
Harris is like a 'B' version of Jimmy Butler. He is not as good a finisher or defender and he lacks Butler's killer instinct. He has had good moments this season, but he has had bad moments too.
Against Denver on Tuesday night, Will Barton went off for 11 points at the start of the game. That's not easy to stop but defensively Harris has to be a lock-down guy for the Sixers. He is typically going to be guarding the best wing on the other team.
He has to be able to do it at both ends of the floor and he hasn't established himself as a two-way player in the league.
Josh Richardson's injury gave rookie Matisse Thybulle an opportunity to start and he has grabbed it with both hands. I love watching him play. He is a super-impressive rookie and I really like his game.
Thybulle is athletic, he can run the floor, he can knock down the catch-and-shoot three and he is an absolute pest on defense. In the last Sixers game I watched, he was getting deflections, irritating ball-handlers and jumping into passing lanes.
He has also shot 60 per cent from three-point range over his last five games, which is insane! He drained five treys alone against the Raptors on Sunday night.
I think it's all about confidence for Thybulle. He is gaining the trust of the coaching staff. His minutes are rising, he has played 24.6 minutes a game over his last five games.
