Hoops Habit
Fansided

1 takeaway from each of the 5 NBA Christmas Day games

By Daniel Lubofsky

Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Los Angeles Lakers LeBron James LA Clippers Kawhi Leonard. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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NBA Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid
Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) /

This is why the Sixers are a popular Finals pick

The Philadelphia 76ers are a favorite among many to make it out of the Eastern Conference on account of their on-paper talent.

A loaded starting unit aside, however, this team has some serious warts, most noticeably a lack of shooting that compromises the abilities of stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid that not even a swarming defense can cover for.

It’s why the validity of Philly’s contender status has come into question on several occasions, with the Dec. 25 matchup against the league-best Milwaukee Bucks an appropriate measuring stick of its ceiling.

Forty-eight minutes later and the Sixers showed exactly what makes them a dangerous two-way threat at their best.

https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1209964536763211779

They stuck to early MVP-favorite Giannis Antetokounmpo and harassed him into an 8-of-27 shooting performance. All five starters scored in double-figures –with six players doing so overall — and the 21 makes from beyond the arc tied the franchise’s all-time mark.

Philly’s defense has been a constant all season en route to a top-10 mark. It’s the 3-pointers that caught everyone, Milwaukee included, off guard considering their 20th-ranked placement in makes per game.

The Sixers simply don’t have the personnel to make this impressive aerial assault the norm, but that they likely won’t doesn’t mean they can’t, nor does it mean they won’t in some form when it matters most.

Given how easily they dismantled a team viewed as their biggest Finals roadblock, that two-way potential on full display against one of the league’s best warrants an appropriate amount of fear for potential challengers out east, the Bucks included.