Celtics ride Terry Rozier to Game 1 blowout over the 76ers: 3 takeaways
By Ian Levy
After a lengthy rest, the 76ers looked rusty in getting blown out by the Celtics in Game 1 of their second-round series.
After a strong finishing kick to the regular season, blowing through the Heat in the first round, and more injury woes for the Celtics, the 76ers were a trendy upset pick in the second round. That outcome is certainly still in play but Philadelphia dug themselves a hole by getting blown out in Game 1.
Philadelphia lost all four quarters in Game 1, with a problematic second quarter allowing the Celtics to build a lead they’d never relinquish. The 76ers had problems on both ends with a catastrophically poor outside shooting night compounding the widening holes in their defense which were exploited by Terry Rozier, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum on their way to absurdly efficient nights.
For the Celtics to win Game 1, in this fashion, without Jaylen Brown, is huge for their momentum in this series. But it’s hard to imagine Philadelphia struggling this badly at both ends again.
Takeaways
No Gordo/Kyrie/Jaylen, no problem. The injuries keep stacking up for the Boston Celtics and it just doesn’t matter. Playing without the two star players expected to carry their offense this season, and the second-year win who stepped up and carried it in the first round, the Celtics scored 119.4 points per 100 possessions against one of the best defenses in the NBA. Terry Rozier, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum combined for 83 points on 46 shot attempts (and 16 free throw attempts). It was an incredibly efficient performance from a team that has had to continue evolving and adapting.
Embiid and Simmons are figuring some stuff out. The young duo has been incredible for Philadelphia all season long, playing far better than any duo this young and inexperienced has any right to. At first glance, their statlines would seem to indicate a reasonably good game — decent shooting percentages with a combined 49 points, 20 rebounds and 11 assists. They also racked up ten turnovers between then (seven belonging to Simmons) and Embiid missed some opportunities to take advantage even further. The 76ers were buried by the Celtics blazing hot shooting in this game, but Simmons and Embiid weren’t their best selves either.
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Where was Philly’s supporting cast? One of the major stories in their first-round destruction of the Miami Heat was the strong play of the 76ers role players. J.J. Redick scored 20 points in Game 1, but was just 2-of-7 on 3-pointers. Covington, Saric, Belinelli and Ilyasova were a combined 1-of-13 on 3s and the Philadelphia shot just 19.2 from distance on the night. The recipe for the 76ers is the power of Embiid inside, the speed of Simmons in transition and their shooters taking advantage of the space those two elements create. They weren’t able to do that tonight and things got out of hand.