As the NBA season is on hold due to the outbreak of the coronavirus, it means everything is temporarily on hold and fans are subject to watching old basketball games as we all look to pass the time.
Luckily, for everybody involved, NBC Sports Philadelphia blessed everybody with the replay of the opening night matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics. While this game was covered extensively by Sixers Wire, we have decided to re-watch the game again and break down the intricacies of this one as if we are watching it in real-time during our quarantine.
First quarter
- You can really see the value of Josh Richardson right away. The Sixers brought him in here to provide strong play on both ends and in his Philadelphia debut, he gets asked to defend Kemba Walker and the strong wings the Celtics possess. He blocked Gordon Hayward and harassed Walker in the early moments of the game.
- Ben Simmons is a different player when he’s aggressive. The guy is just a terrific athlete, he’s a tank, and he’s a great finisher as well. His play to start this one has been terrific. His lob pass to Joel Embiid to begin the scoring was absolutely terrific.
- Philadelphia trails it 25-20 after one quarter after NBC Sports Philly had to push it forward to the second quarter after a little over six minutes. They said it was due to time constraints.
Second quarter
- Man, this Sixers offense is just dreadful. To be completely fair, they are getting to the foul line so that always helps, but they missed their first six shots before Tobias Harris drilled a triple to tie it at 32.
- You can really see the potential of Matisse Thybulle from the moment he stepped on to the floor. He has a ton of confidence and he looks like he just gets it on the defensive end of the floor. He played Walker perfectly for a steal in the second quarter to bring the Sixers to within one despite the offensive issues.
Side note: The Sixers acknowledging Allen Iverson at games will never get old.
- This is the beginning of the constant double teams Embiid sees on a nightly basis with this new roster. He makes a few nice plays out of them, but for the most part, he has had a lot of issues getting to where he wants to go on the floor. This will become a problem all season.
- Philadelphia leads 49-48 at halftime despite struggling on the offensive end. The defensive effort is stifling to begin this game. Walker has no idea where to go.
Third quarter
- 11:16 mark, coach Brett Brown challenges a foul call on Embiid and he’s unsuccessful. The big man then drew an offensive foul from Jaylen Brown when he took an elbow to the lip and he begins to bleed. Officials rule it a common foul and the big fella stays in the game. It spurs a big run as the Sixers seize a 62-50 lead after Harris bullies Semi Ojeleye for a bucket.
- The shooting woes for the Sixers are keeping the Celtics in this game. At the 3:45 mark, they are now just 2-for-19 from deep and with Embiid on the bench resting, they are not able to find any offense. Their lead is down to 66-63 after a Jayson Tatum And-1 finish. They have the lead thanks to Simmons’ continued aggressiveness.
- Embiid enters for Al Horford and the offense finds a flow and Embiid drills the third triple of the game for Philadelphia before Thybulle picks up an impressive block on Walker. This kid is on his way to becoming an elite defender. Philadelphia leads Boston 77-68 after three quarters.
Fourth quarter
- The Celtics made it a 77-73 game, but Furkan Korkmaz and Harris drilled back-to-back triples to make it a 10 point lead. This gives the Sixers a lot of confidence on that end of the floor and lo and behold, Kyle O’Quinn hops off the bench to drill a 3-pointer for a 90-74 lead. The game should have ended right there.
- The Sixers offense begins to flow a bit late in this game. Thybulle drills a corner triple for a 104-90 lead and their defense held the Celtics could not find any open looks. You can look at the work that Thybulle and Richardson put in against Walker, Tatum, and Brown. Philadelphia wins 107-93.
Opening night left a great taste in everybody’s mouth. Philadelphia was able to knock down six triples in the final frame showing off a lot of confidence on that end and they were able to impose their will defensively. Walker, who has torched the Sixers in the past, finished shooting 4-for-18.
Simmons had 24 points to lead a starting lineup that all scored in double-figures. It was an impressive night in all facets of the game. [lawrence-related id=27688,27670,27662]