Once it was revealed that the Philadelphia 76ers weren’t going to play their regular rotation guys, this game was destined to be a blowout, but the Boston Celtics took things to another level. They absolutely dominated the Sixers, earning a 139-89 victory in their first preseason game at TD Garden.
The starters got extended minutes in this game as Joe Mazzulla seemingly wanted to give the home fans a treat. (Or just wanted to start ramping up his guys for the regular season.) The backup big-man rotation shined, Jaylen Brown turned into Steve Nash, and Sam Hauser was automatic from deep.
Here are three studs and two duds from Boston’s preseason win over Philadelphia.
Stud - Jaylen Brown’s passing
The reigning Finals MVP was aggressive very early on in this game, but not necessarily in the scoring column. Jaylen Brown went on an assist rampage early in the first, finding Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet (twice) for easy layups in the paint.
Brown’s ball-handling put him in the right spots, and his ever-improving awareness helped him locate his teammates in the teeth of Philadelphia’s defense.
Dud - Jayson Tatum’s control
A quick glance at the box score would say that Jayson Tatum had a solid performance on Friday night. And for the most part, he did. Tatum ended the night with 16 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists while shooting 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-8 from three-point range. But at times, his control was off.
Early in the game, Tatum was making regular trips over to the referees following what he believed to be fouls. But in the box score, they were turnovers. He just felt a bit too loose with the ball in his hands.
Stud - Luke Kornet
Wilt Chamberlain made an early appearance on Friday night, but he took the form of Luke Kornet. By the time he was subbed out for Xavier Tillman mid-way through the first quarter, Kornet had tallied 11 points and four rebounds, dominating the paint.
Brown was the Steve Nash to Kornet’s Amar’e Stoudemire in the first. There was nowhere Kornet went without Brown finding him, and it resulted in a dominant quarter.
And Kornet didn’t stop there. He finished the game with 15 points, eight rebounds, and two assists while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor.
Joe Mazzulla recently said that the Celtics are open to testing different starting lineups, and Kornet playing in place of Al Horford could be a serious option. Kornet looks good enough to play huge minutes this year, and if the Celtics can rest Horford more than they initially intended, it would be a big-time win.
Bonus: Speaking of Celtics big men, Tillman looked incredible in this game as well. He spent some time at the four and the five, but no matter what role he was playing, Tillman seemed to be in the right spot.
Whether it was crashing the glass for offensive boards or nailing three-point shots when they came his way, Tillman had his hands all over this Boston win. (But he does need to work on his touch around the rim a little bit.)
Tillman and Kornet (and Neemias Queta) look more than capable of filling in for the Celtics while Kristaps Porzingis is out.
Dud - Baylor Scheierman’s shot
There were times in this game when Baylor Scheierman looked all right. He made a three (and stared down the 76ers bench), hustled on the glass a bit, and even made a nice cut off the ball in the fourth. All good things for a rookie.
But for the rest of the time, he was all over the place, and his three-point shot just looks wonky.
Plenty of players find success with weird-looking three-point shots, but Scheierman hasn’t looked like the type of guy who can consistently knock-down catch-and-shoot threes. He looks more like a volume shooter.
Add in a couple of less-than-ideal fouls and a bad defensive play or two, and Scheierman still has something to prove.
Stud - Sam Hauser
There is only so much one can take away from a preseason game, but Sam Hauser was cooking the 76ers’ D-tier squad on Friday night. Three after three, he nearly lit the nylon on fire.
Watching Hauser shoot the basketball is like watching an AI robot programmed not to miss a three-point shot. (And when he does, you can only assume something got messed up in the coding.)
It’s truly an unbelievable experience to witness.
Dud - Jaden Springer
This has nothing to do with Jaden Springer as a player, but it was weird to see him glued to the bench on Friday night. These are the types of games he should thrive in, and he didn’t even sniff the floor.
Springer was a DNP in this one, and he wasn’t on the injury report before the game. There’s no indication that he’s dealing with an ailment, but his lack of playing time was odd, to say the least.