Celtics’ flaw overshadows found formula in Game 1 loss
Turnovers costly in series setback
For as long as this series lasts, it will be a simple game against the Sixers.
The Celtics can survive volcanic James Harden eruptions, like his 45-point outburst Monday night.
They can navigate a noshow from Derrick White, who scored four points and sat down the stretch.
They can even endure the return of expected MVP Joel Embiid, who lost three of four to them in the regular season and has yet to beat Boston when it matters most.
But what the Celtics cannot, will not and did not survive Monday is losing the ball.
Boston lost Monday’s 119-115 thriller when Marcus Smart’s dish to Jayson Tatum with seconds left instead found Paul Reed and when Malcolm Brogdon gifted a goahead, fast-break layup to Tyrese Maxey at 28.9.ticks remaining The Celtics finished with 16 turnovers. Philly had six.
That was it. That was the game.
Yes, between Smart’s dump of a dump-off and Brogdon’s brain fart, Tatum hit two foul shots to push the C’s ahead 115114. Tatum had curled right after receiving an inbounds pass, chased contact and drew a whistle. It was one of the only times the Celtics played with purpose and organization in the final 2:30, an aimless stretch defined by two turnovers and a panicky 1-for-6 shooting performance.
Meanwhile, Harden orchestrated the Celtics’ collapse with master stroke after master stroke. After Tatum’s foul shots at 26 seconds left, he dragged Al Horford into a pick-androll Boston switched atop the key. He drew Horford tight with a couple of low, calm dribbles, and drilled a game-winning 3-pointer faster than the big man could close.
“He probably surprised me with how quickly he shot the ball,” Horford admitted later.
Harden’s pick-and-roll mastery was nothing new to the Celtics, who two possessions earlier danced with him after he’d beckoned for several screens. But the last one, as the clock ticked under a minute remaining, sprung Reed free for a rim attack, and Smart fouled him in the act. Reed hit both foul shots.
Leading 113-112, the Celtics pinged the ball around on their penultimate half-court possession. Five seconds left.
Tick. Smart up-faked on a 3, dribbled to the left elbow and flipped a pass back to Tatum. Tock. Tatum pump-faked a 3 and refused to shoot. Tick. Now, it was Brogdon’s turn to panic, and he flung a pass to Maxey who coasted three-quarters of the court in disbelief until his layup fell through, and the crowd fell silent.
A second epic collapse had been thrust upon TD Garden in 24 hours. How could this happen?
The truth is these were not cruel, lingering ghosts from the Bruins’ Game 7 loss. Not even bad luck. The Sixers, Daryl Morey’s Sixers, won with math. The possession game.
They took 14 more shots than Boston and fired a dozen more 3-pointers.
“We only shot 26 threes,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I don’t know if that’s the best way to go about it.”
Philly claimed 32.4% of its available offensive rebounds — a much higher percentage than the Celtics’ — and generated the rest of their extra shots off turnovers. That effort, even without Embiid, was enough to overcome a Boston team favored by 10 points that shot 58.7% from the floor. Fifty-eight percent!
But whether they shoot 58% or 48% or 38% in Game 2, the Celtics have their solution against Philly.
Aside from protecting the ball — Smart was the worst offender with six turnovers — Boston must hit the gas and pound the paint.
The Sixers without Embiid have little rim protection. With or without Embiid, they’re slow. They’re terrible defending transition, allowing opponents to score 1.18 points per possession in transition, fifth-worst in the league. The evidence of how pace and a paint focus could hurt Philly was ample early in Game 1.
The Celtics’ first six points were dunks and a layup. Midway through the quarter, Tatum cooked Tobias Harris, one of the Sixers’ better defensive answers for him, off the bounce for a layup. A minute later, Jaylen Brown back-cut James Harden and cocked a two-handed slam behind his head for an easy dunk.
The Celtics led by seven after the first quarter, when 26 of their 38 points came inside the paint. They scored 30 of their 66 first-half points on possessions that lasted fewer than 10 seconds. Good shots came to them when they pressured Philly early, instead of working them in the half-course.
Mazzulla also has rotation wrinkles to smooth out. Grant Williams entered with 5:10 left in the first quarter and was promptly hunted off the floor. Harden beat him for two baskets around a Harris blow-by. Williams played four minutes total.
Mazzulla later threw Sam Hauser into the fire.
He played 33 more seconds than Williams and finished with a matching zero points.
White must play better. Rob Williams could see a longer leash, considering his rim protection, which would allow the Celtics perimeter defender to play higher out on Harden. Time will tell, as it usually does.
The tenets of a Game 1 are rarely the truths of a long series — except maybe this one.
For as long as Embiid is out, and even when the slow-footed, spectacular future MVP and Hall of Famer returns, the Celtics must protect the ball, organize offensively and push the pace.
There are no more secrets. Not between rivals, and not after that collapse.
On to Game 2.