The Celtics defeat the 76ers, 123-91, to take a 1-0 series lead in their first-round matchup.<\/p>\n
One game into any playoff series is no time to call off the fight, but as it relates to this one, the Philadelphia 76ers certainly need to place a call for help.<\/p>\n
Like, to the basketball gods to get Joel Embiid physically right, although that call might go straight to voicemail.<\/p>\n
Or, a call to everyone on the roster to bring their very best for however long this series<\/a> continues, because the Sixers might not have a choice.<\/p>\n They were run off the court in Boston with the Celtics breezily handling their business in the 32-point Game 1 victory<\/a>.<\/p>\n There was no suspense in this one because the Sixers had no response after falling behind and staying there.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot went wrong, that\u2019s for sure,\u201d said Sixers coach Nick Nurse.<\/p>\n The Celtics are trying to return to the NBA Finals two years after winning a championship and last month welcomed Jayson Tatum back from offseason Achilles surgery. Based on this early playoff glimpse, they certainly have a chance.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was Celtics basketball,\u201d said Boston All-Star Jaylen Brown.<\/p>\n At the same time, context is in order. The Celtics are playing a Sixers team that\u2019s scrambling to right the ship and could very well be in a bad matchup for them at the absolute worst time.<\/p>\n Here are four takeaways from the Celtics\u2019 victory in the series opener vs. Philly:<\/p>\n 1. No Embiid, no chance for Sixers<\/p>\n All has been well for Boston since Tatum returned. Meanwhile, all is not swell for the Sixers as they move forward without Embiid after his emergency appendectomy<\/a>. His status remains uncertain for this series, and by the time he gets cleared, the Sixers could be eliminated.<\/p>\n The absence of Embiid was quite evident in Game 1 and really, this series. He\u2019s a game-changer and alters everything about the Celtics\u2019 defensive strategy. And, because the Celtics lack a true low-post rim protector, a healthy Embiid would likely feast against Boston\u2019s front line and if nothing else generate frequent trips to the free-throw line.<\/p>\n Without him, the Sixers needed 3-pointers to fall, and they were out of luck; the Sixers shot just 2-for-16 from deep Sunday.<\/p>\n Also, Embiid remains a credible defender and the Celtics wouldn\u2019t be so eager to attack the rim with him around.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s all guesswork right now because of his uncertainty. Without him, the Sixers are scrambling, as they have all season with him in and out of the lineup. The Sixers are 19-22 without him, mainly because so much burden is placed on Tyrese Maxey and, unfairly, rookie VJ Edgecombe.<\/p>\n The good news for Philly is that Maxey and Edgecombe thrived in spite of it all. Maxey had an All-NBA caliber season and Edgecombe seems likely to earn All-Rookie honors. Maxey had 21 points and eight assists Sunday, remarkable because the Celtics constantly tried to trap him and force him into tough shots. At this rate, it\u2019s possible Maxey could wear down against one of the league\u2019s better defenses. Or at least that\u2019s the Celtics\u2019 plan.<\/p>\n Which brings up a related subject:<\/p>\n 2. Paul George needs to be an A-lister<\/p>\n His time in Philly has been laced with disappointment \u2014 caused by injuries, a suspension and a performance level that hasn\u2019t quite matched what he did for his previous team, the Clippers.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not all his fault. The Sixers are in a sense still waiting to see how good they can be with George, Embiid and Maxey over a long stretch without interruptions. And they might need to wait at least another year for that.<\/p>\n Still, George needs a powerful showing in this series to demonstrate that he\u2019s still capable of impacting a game or series, and to give the Sixers a shot with Embiid out. His Game 1 didn\u2019t really drop hints one way or another. The game was lopsided so his 17 points were mostly harmless.<\/p>\n But it did confirm this: George isn\u2019t this team\u2019s primary option. Maxey has clearly surpassed him in the pecking order, and now Edgecombe is getting as much if not more touches.<\/p>\n 3. Jayson Tatum can take his time<\/p>\n Jayson Tatum (25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) lift the Celtics to a Game 1 victory over the 76ers.<\/p>\n What a refreshing and encouraging playoff opener for Tatum, from the Celtics\u2019 standpoint. Tatum was superb in stretches and overall consistent with solid play, lots of energy and no rust from sitting most of the season.<\/p>\n This was a best-case scenario for the Celtics and the kind of game that will only cause concern not only for the Sixers, but anyone else in the East with plans to rep the conference in the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n Tatum was good for 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists and most of all looked frisky in his 32 minutes. If this is what Boston can expect from him, then his injury and subsequent absence is well into the rearview mirror.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Sixers could only watch and wonder why Embiid wasn\u2019t blessed by the same Gods.<\/p>\n If Boston really doesn\u2019t need 30-plus minutes from Tatum in this series, then it would be wise to keep him fresh for the next round. Obviously this is on a game-to-game basis against the Sixers; the playoffs have taught us that things can change suddenly. Unless Embiid laces up the sneakers, though, Boston probably doesn\u2019t need to lean heavily on Tatum.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the magnitude of the injury and the narrative around me coming back and everything in between,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cI\u2019m proud of what I\u2019ve been able to accomplish and return to play and all those things. There were many of days where I wasn\u2019t even sure I was going to play this season, let alone get a chance to play today.\u201d<\/p>\n 4. Nikola Vu\u010devi\u0107 must and should stand out<\/p>\n On the flip side, the Celtics should give ample playing time in this series to Vu\u010devi\u0107, a player who could use a confidence boost. And what better way than against the Sixers without Embiid around to cause trouble?<\/p>\n In that sense, this is the perfect series for Vooch to make an impact, find his role and prep himself for the next round \u2014 again, assuming the Celtics won\u2019t sweat much against the Sixers.<\/p>\n In Game 1 he played 18 minutes, scoring three points with six rebounds. The Celtics would be thrilled if Vu\u010devi\u0107 upped those totals and emerged from this series a better player for if and when the Celtics see better teams ahead.<\/p>\n His 16 games since joining the Celtics were largely uneventful. The Celtics acquired him, hoping he would be this year\u2019s Al Horford \u2014 a big who stretches the floor and opens lanes for Tatum and Brown, among others, and helped with rebounding. After a pair of double-figure scoring games after arriving from the Bulls, he had just three more for Boston.<\/p>\n Vu\u010devi\u0107 is capable of solid performances because he rarely makes mistakes and doesn\u2019t demand heavy ball usage. It\u2019s often difficult for players obtained in mid-season, without the benefit of training camp, to mesh immediately with new teammates. Vu\u010devi\u0107 doesn\u2019t have that luxury.<\/p>\n In the meantime, the Celtics are getting positive results from Neemias Queta (13 points in 15 minutes Sunday) and Luka Garza, though neither bring the shooting range of Vu\u010devi\u0107.<\/p>\n For the first time in his career, Vu\u010devi\u0107 is with a team holding championship aspirations. He\u2019ll need to adopt that mentality as well.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Shaun Powell has covered the NBA since 1985. You can e-mail him at\u00a0spowell@nba.com<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on\u00a0X<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Celtics defeat the 76ers, 123-91, to take a 1-0 series lead in their first-round matchup. One game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":714506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3777],"tags":[7,89061,684,473,3878,685,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-714505","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-charlotte-hornets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-celtics-76ers-game-1","10":"tag-charlotte","11":"tag-charlotte-hornets","12":"tag-charlottehornets","13":"tag-hornets","14":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116436438250754115","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=714505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/714505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/714506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=714505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=714505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=714505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}