BSJ Game Report: Philadelphia 76ers 111, Boston Celtics 99 - Passive Celtics turn the ball over, get rolled by Sixers

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics loss to the Philadelphia 76ers with BSJ insight and analysis. 

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out hot and put an 8-2 run together. Then it all fell apart. The Sixers put together a 28-2 response to build a big lead that was never truly threatened. Jaylen Brown started attacking in the third and there was a theoretical point where Boston could come back, but they never could get the necessary stops to do so. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

So. Many. Turnovers: Philly scored 29 points off 17 Boston turnovers. Half the turnovers came in that first quarter where Boston just soiled themselves. Once again, the Celtics looked like they forgot how to play basketball, and even the simplest passes were deflected.

Jayson Tatum’s worst game: Whew, that was rough. That last line about the simplest passes being deflected is mostly about passes that Tatum threw. He gave up 7 turnovers, and they all felt like killers. He looked nowhere close to himself tonight. 

Another spiral: The Celtics started on an 8-2 run, then they gave up a 9-2 run and Ime Udoka called a timeout. Philly was up 11-10 and what should have ensued was a more composed battle. Instead, the Sixers went on a 21-2 run after the timeout. The Celtics are the worst at stopping the bleeding. 

TURNING POINT

I’m going with that 21-2 post timeout run because the Celtics actually won the middle quarters. Of course, the Sixers totally relaxed with the big lead, so that doesn’t tell the whole story, but this game was lost in the first quarter. 

SECOND GUESS

I’ll throw it out there that Payton Pritchard played well in his minutes and Udoka probably should have gone with him more in the second half. Hell, maybe he should have started the second half with Pritchard. 

Honestly, I’m not sure what that would have done. The house was on fire at that point. This might just be me wondering why Udoka didn’t throw a glass of water on it.

THREE UP

Payton Pritchard: Pritchard had it going the moment he stepped on the floor. He finished with 17 points on 7-10 shooting and 3-4 on 3-pointers. He also had 4 assists and just 1 turnover. 

“I’m just trying to go out there and play,” he said after the game. “When you get to play consistent minutes I feel like that kind of happens naturally. I mean for me, my mindset is just to go in there and compete, help the team win, and obviously do what I can to be a spark off the bench.”

Robert Williams: 12 points and 14 rebounds and some solid defense. The Celtics could have used him more, especially attacking Joel Embiid. 

Aaron Nesmith: Added him because of the charge he took on Embiid. Great play -- even though it’s like standing in front of a freight train. He also went 4-5 from the field including 1-2 from deep and hopefully this is a signal that he’s ready for more. 

FOUR DOWN

Jayson Tatum: Way too passive early in the game. I’ll get into this more in a moment, but Tatum let Embiid get in his head a bit, keeping him on the perimeter a little too much. Part of the reason why his passes were getting deflected is that the Sixers could sell out on the pass knowing he wasn’t going to attack. 

Jaylen Brown: I hesitated putting him here because his third quarter was pretty good. He was 5-7 for 12 points, but he was 2-10 early on and he was part of that turnover problem in the first quarter that led to the big deficit. 

Dennis Schröder: Not a great night for the wise-asses who cracked about the Celtics winning the game because Marcus Smart went into COVID protocols. Schröder was awful, missing all of his shots, scoring 1 point and negating his 2 assists with 2 turnovers. He also had a dirty play pushing Matisse Thybulle from behind on the fast break. It didn’t look like much, but any push on a player going that fast in transition changes that player’s momentum by a lot. It’s like a little nudge in a NASCAR race that causes a wreck. Luckily Thybulle wasn’t seriously hurt.

Grant Williams: He was torched defensively early in the game, forcing Udoka to lift him in favor of Romeo Langford. 

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

Stop fearing shot blockers

The Celtics almost always settle for jumpers against shot blockers. In a way, this highlights just how self-centered their stars still see the game. 

During the live coverage, I wrote: “The Celtics may not want to drive and challenge Embiid but it's so important to get the ball into the paint. They have to drive and at least collapse the defense and then try to force some rotation.”

Tatum and Brown see a shot blocker and seem to think ‘well, I can’t get to the rim, so I’m not going to try’ when the actual plan should be to still go at him and make him make decisions. 

“You have to be aggressive and understand this is not only for you to get a shot,” Udoka said after the game. “You still have your drop-offs, you know where your outlets are at all times. At times you've seen that this year. No matter who we're playing, guys are getting downhill and finding the right outlets. We got a little hesitant today and settled for some jump shots. So stay aggressive as far as that. Do what they've done the last few games with penetrate and kick and get other guys the ball."

Paint touches are still vitally important. Getting the Sixers' defense into rotation is still vitally important. And hey, if you drive on Embiid and force him into some decision, you might actually get a foul call or two. 

Like I mentioned earlier, giving up on the drives allows the defense to sell out hard on other things, so you’re playing into their hands. 

Tatum and Brown -- Tatum especially -- need to get into the frame of mind that it doesn’t matter who is out there; that they're going to impose their will on the other team, force the other team to react to them, and then make the appropriate plays after that. 

They were simply too passive against Embiid. Yes, he’s an elite defender, but that doesn’t mean you simply defer to that. You have to force him to make those defensive plays and trust each other to make the right cuts and passes.