The Boston Celtics lost starting ahead of Gordon Hayward in Game 1 of their series against the 76ers, but it did not look like that Wednesday night mattered. Thanks to a commanding 128-101 victory over the Sixers, the Celtics took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series. All-Star forward Jayson Tatum led the way again for the Celtics with 33 points, five rebounds and five assists in 31 minutes of action. The Celtics also received major contributions from Jaylen Brown (20 points, five handballs) and Kemba Walker (22 points, four handballs). Marcus Smart and Enes Kanter also both chipped in with 10 points each.
Joel Embiid grabbed the Sixers with 34 points and 10 rebounds, but his production was not enough to make Philly in need of a win. The fact that the Sixers miss Ben Simmons forward, who is sidelined for the series after knee surgery, has so far been clear in both series at both ends of the floor. The Sixers struggled to defend Boston’s perimeter players defensively, and they also struggled to generate open chances on the offensive end. It was certainly a tough night for Philadelphia, but the players did not have time to hang their heads as they had to regroup and look to jump back into Game 3 on Friday night.
You can find three main takeaways from Game 2 below:
1. 76ers have no answer for Tatum yet
After Tatum had a monstrous performance in Game 1 and became the youngest Celtics player to score a 30-10 stat line in a playoff game, the Sixers are hoping to include stud rookie defender Matisse Thybulle in the starting lineup would help to carry Tatum. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, this is not how things turned out. Tatum had another tremendous game and became just the third player in Celtics history to connect on eight or more 3-pointers in a playoff game.
This is one area where the Sixers miss Ben Simmons in an important way. Simmons is one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. If he was healthy, he would spend a ton of time on Tatum. Philadelphia is having tremendous trouble, and it does not seem to have an answer on the active roster when it comes to slowing down Tatum.
2. Embed in desperate need of help
Embiid has had a very solid series for the Sixers, averaging 30 points and 13 rebounds per game so far, but he has barely had enough help. With Simmons on hand, the Sixers need all their other major contributors to step up, and that just hasn’t happened. The Sixers signed both Tobias Harris and Al Hoford on massive contracts last season, and neither has been able to deliver in proportion to how much they are paid. Horford combined for 10 points through the first two games, and Harris, a player who was a go-to scorer for Philadelphia, scored a total of 28. That would be acceptable output for one playoff game, but certainly not for two. It will already be an uphill battle, and the Sixers will have absolutely no chance of advancing in this series if they do not get much more production from the other guys around Embiid who are meant to be key contributors.
3. Celtics dominate battle of banks
After the Celtics lost Hayward for the rest of the series, it seemed that their depth, if lacking, could become a problem. However, the opposite happened in Game 2. Under the leadership of Enes Kanter (10 points) and Grant Williams (nine points), Boston’s bank outscored Philadelphia’s second unit 41-20, and the reserves played a large part in the team’s victory. On the other hand, Philadelphia’s top two bankers – Horford and Burks – combined for just six overall points, and they were completely unable to deliver one kind of spark out of pain. If this trend continues, the Sixers will have almost no chance of returning to the series, as the Celtics already have a more talented first five than the Sixers.
