The Boston Celtics advanced to the NBA Finals last June. But after suspending coaching for a year and replacing him with a guy with no experience at the NBA level during the offseason, they still faced a lot of questions going into the new season. Regardless, the Celtics once again looked like legitimate contenders in the first game of the season.
While the Philadelphia 76ers team regrouped and added some new elements over the summer, the Celtics took over in the second half and won 126-117. The game was tied at halftime, but Boston outscored Philadelphia 35-35 in the third quarter and never looked back. In Boston’s case, it was the usual suspects who led the way. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both scored 35 points in the contest, with Tatum also adding 12 rebounds and 4 assists.
Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart also added 14 points and seven assists for the Celtics. As a team, Boston shot from the floor he shot a staggering 56%.
James Harden led the way to Philadelphia with 35 points, 7 assists and 8 rebounds. most encouraging aspect Night of the Sixers. His MVP runner-up last season, Joel Embiid, tallied 26 points, 15 rebounds and five assists, while rising star Tyreese his Maxxie scored his 2018 NBA record, including his nine in the fourth quarter. Scored 21 points. That trio’s production wasn’t enough to lead the Sixers to a season opener victory.
There’s limited to come from the first game of the season, but the Celtics once again looked very formidable, especially given the fact that they didn’t have starting center Robert Williams. , Boston may be very difficult to beat. When it comes to Philadelphia, the Sixers clearly have some things to clean up, but given all the new stuff they’re incorporating, they shouldn’t be too discouraged after one game.
Let’s take a look at three key takeaways from Boston’s season opener victory over Philadelphia.
1. Brogdon’s Encouraging Debut
After two wins shy of raising the banner, Boston’s biggest offseason acquisition was Malcolm Brogdon, who was traded in July. Brogdon, the 2017 Rookie of the Year, made his debut for the team on Tuesday night and did very well. Brogdon came off the Boston bench, but he played his 24th minute. This is his fourth longest on the team. During that time, he scored 15 points while shooting 7 of 11 from the floor. He also added 4 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds.
It was solid production, but the true value of what he brought to the team wasn’t just reflected in his own numbers. He provided the team with an extra threat on the offensive end and an extra player who could create their own offense. This made things easier for others like Tatum and Brown. Brogdon isn’t built to be a top option on a title team, but he’s a really nice third or fourth option It should be assumed that as the season progresses he may become more comfortable playing with his new teammates and become more effective. Again, this is only his one game, but Brogdon’s addition looks worthwhile for Boston.
2. Boston dominates the transition
If there’s one thing in particular that could point to why the Sixers are on the wrong side of this issue, it’s their transition defense. The Sixers allowed the Celtics to score 24 fastbreak points, but the Celtics only scored two total, or two for him. It’s hard to win the game when the other team has him outnumber you by 20 or more points in one category. That’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night.To move forward, the Sixers [much] It requires a more coordinated effort to return to defense in transition. Otherwise, you’ll end up using up a lot of gyms. One thing they can do to help themselves is take better care of basketball.The Sixers have 14 teams his turnovers (compared to Boston’s 11) and some of them are: It led directly to an easy, uncontested transition basket for the Celtics.
The Sixers need to not only improve their defense in transition, but also be more aggressive about generating offense at the break. It’s ridiculous that fast he breaks he can only score two points, especially when he has a level of talent like the Sixers. To move forward, they need to pick up the pace. More often in the backcourt he delivers the ball to Tyrese Maxey which is a good start.
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3. A night to remember for Embiid
Joel Embiid’s final numbers in this match look pretty good. 26 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block. However, those numbers are a bit misleading as Embiid certainly hasn’t had one of his better performances. I thought I spent a whole lot of time lining up on my elbows or floating around instead of establishing a . Blocking is where he has the most advantage and puts a lot of pressure on the defense from that position. Additionally, he had much better passing from the post once he double-teamed. This is most of the time.
He shot only 1-of-6 from long range against the Celtics, but shot 8-of-12 from 2-pointers and 7-of-9 from the foul line. Some of it is for Embiid to do a better job of establishing himself in the post, but others are scheme-related. Embiid also recorded six turnovers against Boston, which is unacceptable. He’s been less prone to turnovers throughout his career, but in this game he was too sloppy and loose on the ball.
