The Celtics Have Given the Sixers' Big Three Proof of Concept

Throughout the Sixers' first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, we've been talking about a math problem: Three is greater than two.

For most of the series, that was referring to the disparity in three-point shooting between the Sixers and Celtics. The latter put that on full display in their blowouts of the Sixers in Games 1 and 4. When the Celtics get going from deep, the Sixers have no shot.

But the Sixers have flipped the script on the Celtics with a different math problem.

It's still a matter of three being greater than two. But in this instance, it's a reference to the number of stars on each team.

The Sixers' Big Three lived up to their moniker in Game 6 on Thursday, finishing with 72 of the Sixers' 106 points on the night. Joel Embiid and Paul George were the fulcrum of a hellacious defense that limited the Celtics to only 14 points in the third quarter, too.

Thanks to a seven-month fire sale, the Celtics can no longer go toe-to-toe with the Sixers when it comes to star power. Jaylen Brown took an All-NBA leap this year, and Jayson Tatum figures to be right back in that mix next season, but Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford ain't walkin' through that door. Their next-best players now are some combination of Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta, all of whom have struggled at times throughout the series.

For one night, at least, the Sixers' three-star model looked prescient rather than reckless. If they close out the Celtics in Game 7 on Saturday, they'll further upend what looked like conventional wisdom about their long-term outlook a few days ago.

The Big Three model rides again

The pitfalls of the Big Three model have been on full display during the regular season over the past two years. The NBA's second-apron era has made it particularly difficult to build a sustainable supporting cast around three players on max contracts, which makes top-heavy builds even more boom-or-bust.

The Sixers aren't just building around three players on max deals, though. Two of those players have lengthy injury histories that routinely compromise their availability on a night-to-night basis.

In 2024-25, injuries ravaged the Sixers past the point of no return. They better managed to stay afloat this past season—in large part due to Tyrese Maxey taking his own All-NBA leap as well—although they still wound up as the No. 7 seed after George and Embiid combined to play only 75 games.

For the Sixers, the regular season is simply a matter of survival. The playoffs are the real litmus test for their Big Three.

In Game 6, they passed that test with flying colors.

Two games after finishing with only three first-half shot attempts, Maxey led all scorers with 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting, five assists, two rebounds and two steals in 40 minutes. George had 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting (including 5-of-9 from deep), four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. And while Embiid struggled with his efficiency (19 points on 6-of-18 shooting), he contributed a well-rounded 10 rebounds, eight assists, one steal and only one turnover.

The Sixers' Big Three took turns tormenting Boston on Thursday. Maxey put his three-level scoring ability on full display. Embiid powered his way into the paint and either drew fouls or kicked out to an open teammate when the Celtics sent extra help his way. And George suddenly looked like the five-years-younger version of himself, peppering the Celtics with pull-up jumpers.

There's no guarantee that any of this is sustainable. For all we know, the Celtics will catch fire from deep in Game 7 and send the Sixers into the summer wondering what could have been had Embiid not needed an appendectomy a week before the start of the playoffs.

But no matter what happens in Game 7, Games 5 and 6 should give the Sixers more confidence in their overall vision moving forward.

A game of probabilities

The question is whether they'll have another opportunity like this with this core.

Embiid is still working his way back into shape after his appendectomy resulted in a horrifically timed three-week layoff, but he's otherwise healthy. George's 25-game suspension for a violation of the NBA's anti-drug policy might have been a blessing in disguise as well.

"Before the suspension, I was kind of saving myself for games because of the soreness, and I wanted to be as fresh as possible going into the games," George told reporters after Game 6. "Any little thing I felt that was extra outside of practice would've carried over into a game where I'm not feeling my best. So it was a ton of rehab that was involved with that.

"Now, I can focus on basketball. Again, I'm finally enjoying it now that I'm able to do things that I was once able to do again. It's fun for me again. To be honest, it's kinda just unlocking a new, seeing who I am again. How can I be relevant again? How can I chase some of the things that I was doing in my past? It's been fun to be on the floor and just experience and kind of just learn new things about myself."

Even if the Sixers keep this group together next season, there's no guarantee that they'll be healthy going into the playoffs. Embiid, Maxey, George and VJ Edgecombe can help pick up the slack for one another whenever the Sixers are short-handed, but they need to be at full strength to have a chance of going on a deep playoff run.

It's fair to wonder whether this group can survive the rigors of the 82-game regular season and emerge relatively unscathed by mid-April. A fluky set of circumstances delivered them to this point this year.

That's a problem for a later day, though. For now, the Sixers have a golden opportunity to put the final stamp of approval on their Big Three model with one more road win in Boston.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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