Nobody was trying to claim that the 76ers were the better team, or even that they had much of a chance in their first-round series with the Celtics. But we’ve seen crazy things happen in the NBA playoffs, we’ve seen teams collapse, and we’ve seen other teams overachieve. It’s foolish to take anything for granted, and starting a series off poorly can give the opponent belief, which can impact the outcome.
Luckily, on Sunday, that wasn’t the case at all as the Celtics took care of business and completely outclassed the Sixers, imposing their will for 48 minutes, and giving them very little to build on going forward.
Usually, there’s something that the losing team in Game One can point to and expect it to flip, or some outlier that can be changed. But in this instance, it’s tough to find anything to point to as a positive from the Philadelphia side of things.
Celtics can play a lot better
It may be discouraging for the Sixers to face this realization, but the Celtics can play a lot better. The numbers ended up about average, but Boston can shoot better from three-point range, where they knocked down 16-44. That’s certainly solid, but given the shots they were consistently generating, they left some food on the table.
Another area where the Celtics have crushed teams all season long is on the offensive glass, but the Sixers did a great job in that regard. They limited Boston to just 5 offensive rebounds on the night, which led to 12 second-chance points, showcasing how deadly those opportunities can be.
Foul trouble limited Neemias Queta to just 15 minutes and Nikola Vucevic to 17; you can imagine that this will probably be the worst offensive-rebounding game of the series for Boston.
76ers grasping at straws already
On the other side, it’s got to be hard for Philly to find sources of optimism going forward. Tyrese Maxey was held to 21 points, but the coverage on him is only going to ramp up. VJ Edgecombe got going a little bit later in the game, but he’s just a rookie. Paul George had just eight shots, but got to the free-throw line plenty and finished with 17 points. It’s hard to ask for much more from him at this point in his career.
The center rotation of Adem Bona and Andre Drummond was about as advertised, getting in early foul trouble and failing to make an impact. If they are banking on a drastic change there, it’s likely a fool’s errand. The role players like Kelly Oubre, Quentin Grimes, Justin Edwards, and Dominick Barlow were fine and can play better, but that’s not going to swing the series.
The Sixers can shoot better than 4-23 from three, they can dish out more than 20 assists, and they can limit the 15 turnovers. But overall, nothing crazy or fluky happened in this game. Everything felt like it went about as expected, and considering the result was a 123-91 Boston victory, that’s very bad news for the 76ers.
The Celtics need to go out on Tuesday and pick up right where they left off. Keep the pressure on and don’t give the Sixers any hope or life heading back to Philly. Squash them, and keep tightening the screws, breaking their will, and making this the short series that it should be.
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