Section 215
Fansided

Philadelphia 76ers: 3 key players to success versus Boston

By Scotty Pierre

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 14: Al Horford #42 and Josh Richardson #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA basketball game at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 14, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - AUGUST 14: Al Horford #42 and Josh Richardson #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers guard James Harden #13 of the Houston Rockets during the first half of an NBA basketball game at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 14, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ashley Landis-Pool/Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia 76ers
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The Philadelphia 76ers will need help from these three specific players during their matchup with the Boston Celtics.

The Philadelphia 76ers will begin their 2020 playoff journey on Monday night against the Boston Celtics. The Sixers didn’t finish the regular season in the bubble on the best note, losing three out of their last four games. The 76ers also lost Ben Simmons for what appears to be the rest of the season due to a knee surgery. That’s undeniably huge, losing your second-best player right before postseason play.

Should we be worried about which 76ers team shows up to play Boston? Obviously you should be a little concerned when you lose a player the caliber of Simmons, but the 76ers can still win this series. However, there are three specific players that will need to perform well in order for Philadelphia to make it happen.:

Al Horford

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The 76ers are going to need Al Horford to finally play up to his salary in this series.

The Sixers signed Horford to a 4-year $109 million contract last offseason, with hopes they would receive a five-time All-Star player. Instead, they got what looks like a washed-up veteran who is having the worst season of his career.

Horford’s player efficiency rating (PER) of 15.7 is actually his lowest since his rookie season with Atlanta and is just .7 above the league average of 15.0. Horford’s play is especially inefficient when Joel Embiid is on the floor with him at the same time.

When looking at Boston’s starting lineup (which features Jayson Tatum at the power forward position), I personally believe Brett Brown has to bring Horford off the bench.

Horford could be that “defensive anchor” for the second unit and provide veteran leadership as someone that has battled in the playoffs before. T