CHICAGO - As depth charts go, Tacko Fall remains low on Boston's roster of big men.
Even at 7-foot-5 and 311 pounds, the tower from Senegal has appeared in only 22 games with the Celtics, logging just six minutes an outing and throwing in 2.9 points and 2.4 rebounds for each call.
But when the Sixers visited the TD Garden today, Fall was summoned off the bench early and eventually punched in nine minutes. The move was not necessarily a function of necessity, more like desperation.
Joel Embiid was as unstoppable as the coronavirus.
In his second game since returning from a 10-game absence due to a bruised bone on his left knee, the 7-foot-2 MVP race leader turned in a dominant performance that saw him net 35 points and six rebounds.
As Embiid processed Philly's 106-96 victory, he mowed down five different defenders - Fall, 7-foot-2 Luke Kornet, 6-foot-11 Mo Wagner, and 6-foot-8 Robert Williams III.
Sam Ojeleye, a thick 6-foot-6, 240-pound power forward, also got his turn on Embiid, but his physical play offered little resistance to Embiid's length and the might of those 285 pounds.
All told, each of the Celtics assigned to guard Embiid proved to be mere speed bumps on his way to 20 trips to the free throw line.
"He takes advantage of every single bump," Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told ESPN on the difficulty of covering Embiid, who also led the Sixers' two wins over Boston last January, tormenting them for an average of 40 points and 10.5 rebounds.
In this road trip, which completed a season-series sweep for Philly, Embiid canned 9-of-19 from the field while making 16 free throws.
"He had great rhythm. And I thought he was very patient, too. I thought our passing when they doubled (him) was fantastic," Sixers coach Doc Rivers told The Philadelphia Daily Inquirer.
Much to Boston's frustration, Philly's poison was not limited to Embiid.
Tobias Harris and Ben Simmons combined for 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, a triple-double by two. Seth Curry sniped for nine and Danny Green, even at 33, showed to still have that quick trigger, knocking down 5-of-6 triples for a total harvest of 17.
Led by Furkan Korkmaz, a rangy 6-foot-7 wing, the Sixers bench accounted for 26 points to help build a 21-point second-quarter lead that they never relinquished.
Boston's Big 3 of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker and Jaylen Brown pooled 51 points on 19-of-41 shooting but they got little support outside of Marcus Smart's 14 markers.
With a sub-average record of 25-26 and eighth place in the Eastern Conference, it has proven to be a trying season for the Celtics who have been ravaged by injuries and COVID-19 health protocols.
Unless they come back to sixth place, their path to the playoffs is increasingly looking like it will require a detour in the play-in tournament.
The Sixers, meanwhile, are 35-16 and atop the East and, arguably, better and steadier than the talent-soaked but uneven Brooklyn Nets, who have yet to see Kevin Durant back from the injured list.
"I'm back," Embiid declared as he retreated to the visitors' locker room, leaving his wounded rivals in his wake.
He sure is back. In a loud, assertive way.
And the rest of the league is taking notice.
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