The Philadelphia 76ers took on the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Playoffs and they got off to a hot start. Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris were attacking early and the Sixers were able to get out to a lead. However, it was not enough to sustain as they fell 109-101 to fall behind in the series 0-1.
Embiid led Philadelphia with 26 points and 16 rebounds, Harris had 15 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, Josh Richardson had 18, and Alec Burks added 18, but it was not enough to get the job done in the playoff opener.
With that said, here are the three observations in this one:
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
The Sixers lost this game because of turnovers. They were completely lazy with their passes and their decision making and that then allowed the Celtics to get out in transition. For as good as Embiid was in this game overall, he committed five turnovers and that allowed Boston to get out in transition. Philadelphia really could not get into rhythm outside of the first quarter on the offensive end of the floor. Al Horford—who had a solid game—was also pretty lazy with his passing at times. All of that is too much to overcome against a very good Celtics team.
Embiid’s up and down game
Embiid was a monster to start this game. He had 11 points in the opening quarter and he was attacking early and often. The Sixers set him up in the post and he did what he was supposed to do against Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter. It was too easy for him, but he then got passive. He was setting up on the perimeter too often and that was another issue on offense.
In the third quarter, he got aggressive again getting to the basket and bulldozing his way around the smaller Celtics. His energy and his aggressiveness spread to the rest of his teammates and the team went on a 16-0 run at the end of the third and into the fourth to allow Philadelphia to take a lead. They just weren’t able to finish it off. The point is, Embiid is going to make this team go. He needs to be more consistent with his effort and energy. His final stat line is good, but without Ben Simmons, it needs to be better.
Perimeter defense
Boy, it would be nice to have Simmons right about now. Jayson Tatum ate every single defender up for lunch in this one. It did not matter who was on him, he went to the basket and he finished around and over defenders. The only one who had any type of success was Matisse Thybulle who did an admirable job of staying in front of him. The Sixers will need to find a way to stop him going forward in this series or else they will be cooked.
Jaylen Brown as well had an easy time getting to the basket and it was an overall bad night when it comes to defending their wings. Coach Brett Brown’s scheme was to have the big man stay in the paint due to the fact that the Boston big men are not offensive threats. That allowed the Celtics to get a full head of steam downhill so that could be something that is addressed. [lawrence-related id=36906,36903,36896]