While roster may scream offense, it's the defense that has Sixers still alive vs. Celtics

This is what the fanbase, the organization, the coaches and probably even the players themselves envisioned when it came to the Sixers. 

That is, being able to put a healthy, full-bodied product on the basketball court that included the injury-plagued star, the veteran do-everything signee and the upcoming superstar. The Big Three, as the labeling goes, in Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey, appears fully healthy, willing and able at the perfect time of the year, finally, as the team is set to embark on Game 7 Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Boston.

When envisioning a Big Three — no matter the team or the players — thoughts of offense, shooting, dynamic scoring and highlight-reel plays are what come to mind for most. And it's probably what coach Nick Nurse thought of when the trio was put together before last season when George signed his four-year contract. Injuries derailed that almost all of last season and again through a majority of this one. It appeared all was going to be right come playoff time, as George was done serving his anti-drug, 25-game suspension, Embiid seemed healthy from the ailments he incurred this season and Maxey was back from tendon damage in his pinky.

Then, Embiid had to undergo emergency surgery to remove his appendix on April 9, and the playoff cloud that seemingly follows him appeared again. Miraculously, he returned just over two weeks after the surgery, and the Big Three was reunited for a series against the Boston Celtics. And what a series it's been, only not due to the reasons that were thought of when Embiid, George and Maxey were reunited. The Sixers are playing in the series clincher, after Thursday's 106-93 win, more due to their defense than what the Big Three supply at the other end of the court.

A 32-point loss in Game 1 forced Nurse to the film room to discover a way to limit Boston from getting to do whatever they wished on the offensive side of the ball. They hit wide-open threes, they got to the lane as if they were dribbling through pylons, and when they did miss, they got themselves second chances and capitalized the majority of the time.

And while the Sixers got roasted in another 32-point loss in Game 4, the next two games that tied the series were virtual lessons in basketball defense by Nurse's squad, which now finds itself on the verge of advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2023.

The Sixers have made a concentrated effort to not allow the Celtics to shoot comfortable threes. It has meant fighting through picks, being fully aware of where shooters are at all times, not being pump-faked out of position, and helping each other just enough to discourage dribble-drives to the basket. And they've limited Boston's offensive rebounding, which was a killer early in the series when it built a 3-1 lead. In short, the defense has been the turning point of this series.

"I've been saying it the whole series, he's (George) just been just excellent on defense," said Nurse. "Those two guys (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) are great wings and he's got to battle them every possession and he is battling. They're scoring but he's making them really work for it. And I just feel like he's getting more confident every game at the offensive end. I'm probably most impressed by our defensive effort."

In the past two wins, the Sixers have held Boston to just 95 points a game on average and have allowed just 22 made threes, or two less than it made in Game 4 alone.

"I just think he's been so much better at the defensive end," said Nurse of Embiid. "It's not easy. They've got two pick and pop bigs and a dynamic roller. I think he did a really good job of not letting (Neemias) Queta get behind him for dunks. He did a solid job on the pick and pop stuff, as well with the other two guys. I think he created enough traffic in the paint with just his sheer size. That, for me, has been great."

With George battling one wing, Embiid manning the middle and Kelly Oubre Jr. dealing with another wing, it's been a recipe for winning. Just probably not the same recipe many envisioned when looking at the makeup of the team.

"Just resilience," said Oubre. "They are going to continue to attack, be aggressive. They're very efficient and effective in their sets and the things that they run. But at the end of the day, I like white rice and I'm just trying to be the white on the rice. You can't shut nobody out, but I'm not backing down from no challenge. I'm going to continue to just be there and just make it difficult."

They have all bought into the difficult task of trying to shut down the Celtics. But they all know that it is the key ingredient that has allowed them to be playing the do-or-die game on Sunday.

"We're trying to figure it out and we're going to have to figure it out on the fly, not a lot of practice time," said Maxey of the Big Three being together. "Once (George) came back from his 25 games, he had a mission and I think he's accomplishing that mission. He's been really good. We appreciate him and we appreciate his sacrifice. He's done a great job. I know what this team is made of. This team fights defensively. Offensively, we share the ball, we try to get everyone involved. But defensively, we just fight and try to play hard."

And they'll need it for 48 more minutes to advance to another series.

"It doesn't really matter much, though. This is one game, one story," said Nurse after Thursday's win. "You're going to go back and you're not just going to flip a switch and it's going to happen again. You're going to have to really dig in and focus and prepare and get ready for adjustments. We're going to have to give a tremendous effort, again. The effort of getting back, guarding the ball and blocking out needs to be at a tremendously high level. Whatever team does that in this series wins. Each game's it's own game."