The Boston Celtics appear to be reaping the benefits of Joel Embiid's bluntness.
Following the 76ers' win over the Celtics on Jan. 14, Embiid remarked how much easier Boston was to defend than the Hornets, whom Philadelphia had played two nights before.
"Charlotte, they move the ball extremely well and they have shooters all over the place, and they made a bunch of jump shots," Embiid said at the time. "Boston is more of an iso-heavy team, so it becomes easier to load up and try to stop them."
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At the time, that was the truth: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to attempt nearly half of the Celtics' shots in that 111-99 loss while Boston tallied just 20 assists as a team.
So, before Tuesday night's rematch in Philadelphia, head coach Ime Udoka tried to promote better ball movement by pushing his players' buttons.
"It stood out to me when (Embiid) said it after our game, being that they just played Charlotte the night before us," Udoka told reporters Wednesday. "I put that quote up for the guys before the game (Tuesday), and they saw that."
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Udoka's motivational tactic worked, and then some: The Celtics trounced the Sixers 135-87 on Tuesday night, relying on excellent ball movement -- 28 assists on 46 made shots -- to hit a franchise-record 25 3-pointers.
Even before Udoka used Embiid's comments as bulletin-board material, his team's offensive had improved drastically since mid-January. The C's averaged an Eastern Conference-best 27 assists per contest over their recent nine-game winning streak, with Marcus Smart embracing his role as a true point guard and Derrick White fitting in seamlessly as a facilitator after arriving via trade from the San Antonio Spurs.
"You watch Boston play, and you can literally see the improvement of their ball movement," Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said after Tuesday night's game. "The old Boston was more isos; this Boston is driving and playing with each other. That's what makes them so much tougher."
With Smart and Robert Williams sidelined Wednesday night, the "old Boston" made a brief return in a disappointing loss to the Detroit Pistons. The C's relied heavily on isolation play down the stretch at TD Garden, and it cost them a chance to enter the All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak.
But Boston's larger offensive sample size in the past month is still very encouraging. When Smart, Williams, Tatum and Brown are all healthy, the Celtics have been virtually impossible to stop thanks to an emphasis on better offensive movement. You could argue Embiid deserves partial credit for motivating that turnaround.