BOSTON — The Philadelphia 76ers had a tough offensive night on Tuesday as they opened the season with a 126-117 loss to the Boston Celtics. When one hears the word “tough,” one would question the notion as they did end up shooting 50% on the night.
However, the Sixers committed 14 turnovers that led to 22 Celtics points and they had a difficult time getting into any offensive rhythm. There were successful stretches, but there were other stretches where it was a struggle.
The biggest takeaway for Philadelphia was the play of James Harden. He looked as if he was back to who he was before the hamstring injury. He also worked the pick-and-roll game with Joel Embiid at a high rate as that was when the Sixers were able to have their most success offensively.
“That’s an opportunity for not only just us, but getting to paint, Joel, obviously, he draws two, three, four guys on him, and then our shooters are getting shots,” said Harden after the loss. “We got to find ways to get into that action more.”
The Beard is right. The Sixers have a deadly combo in Harden and Embiid and when they are able to get into that action, they come away with points almost every time.
Whether it’s Embiid at the basket, Harden on the drive or kicking out to shooters Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, PJ Tucker or others, it allows Philadelphia to have its most success on the offensive end.
“You can get into it in a variety of different ways, you know what I mean?” Harden added. “There’s different variations through our offense that we can get into that two-man game, pick-and-roll. We got to find more ways because it’s more effective and it’s really good for our team.”
The Sixers will look to bounce back from the season-opening loss when they return home on Thursday to take on the Milwaukee Bucks.
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