Observations after Sixers get smoked from the jump, lose Game 1 to Celtics in blowout

BOSTON — The Sixers never even sniffed a Game 1 upset Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

They began their first-round playoff series against the Celtics in nightmarish fashion, falling to a 123-91 loss. The second-seeded Celtics never trailed the seventh-seeded Sixers.

Celtics star Jaylen Brown scored 26 points. Jayson Tatum posted 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The Sixers’ leading scorers were Tyrese Maxey with 21 points and Paul George with 17.

The only player sidelined on either side was Joel Embiid. He’s out indefinitely after undergoing an appendectomy last week. 

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is set for Tuesday night in Boston. Here are observations on the Sixers’ blowout Game 1 defeat: 

Celtics land big first blow 

The Sixers had two players start in their playoff debuts with rookie VJ Edgecombe and second-year big man Adem Bona.

The day did not begin according to plan for Bona. He was whistled for his second foul at the 10:23 mark of the first quarter when he rumbled down the floor on a fast break and charged into Sam Hauser. Andre Drummond subbed in. Less than two minutes later, Maxey drove to the rim and drew the second foul on Celtics center Neemias Queta. 

Boston dealt with the frenetic energy of the early action much better than the Sixers. 

George threw a poor cross-court pass that wound up as the Sixers’ fourth turnover in the first five minutes. Brown snagged the steal and Tatum sprinted the other way for a fast-break layup. Following a Sixers timeout, Tatum canned a mid-range jumper to give Boston a double-digit advantage. The Celtics built their lead to 33-18 on a Jordan Walsh layup with 1.1 seconds left in the first quarter. 

The Sixers’ cause was not helped by the fact that they missed several good long-range looks. The team shot just 6 for 21 from the floor and 1 for 9 from three-point territory in the opening period. Their shooting numbers were similar all day long.

Sixers’ backcourt struggles at the start

The Sixers played a nine-man rotation and Justin Edwards was an unsurprising addition. The lefty wing played 17 minutes and tallied seven points on 3-for-9 shooting and six rebounds. 

Nothing the Sixers tried early in the second quarter turned the tide, including zone defense. 

The players’ body language grew increasingly frustrated and out of sync. Drummond goaltended a baseline Queta push shot and was then assessed a technical foul. Payton Pritchard made the ensuing free throw to bump Boston’s lead up to 49-29. The Sixers’ deficit swelled as high as 23 points in the second quarter. 

Almost every area of the game was problematic. One major issue for most of the first half was the inefficiency of the Maxey-Edgecombe backcourt. Edgecombe started 1 for 7 from the field, Maxey 4 for 13. The duo combined for a single made three-pointer on eight attempts in the first half. 

The Sixers need plenty of variables to click into place to beat the Celtics. Maxey and Edgecombe being great is a core part of the equation. 

Adjustments time …  

Both Edgecombe and Maxey saw shots drop late in the second quarter. Among Edgecombe’s highlights were a soft floater and a turnaround jumper.

The Sixers still trailed by 18 points at intermission. Andre Drummond started the third quarter instead of Bona. 

The team tightened up its defense in the first few minutes of the third and Kelly Oubre Jr. laid in his own miss to cut the Celtics’ advantage to 73-58. However, the Sixers continued to misfire on jumpers and couldn’t sustain momentum. With three-pointers from Brown and Nikola Vucevic, Boston’s lead was back over 20 points. 

From there, the Sixers didn’t show anything that suggested they might have a giant comeback in store. 

“Adjustments” is always a buzzword before Game 2 of a playoff series. The Sixers do have many possibilities under that umbrella. Head coach Nick Nurse could alter the rotation, perhaps throwing in Jabari Walker or Trendon Watford. He could place a greater emphasis on screening for Maxey and seeking out desirable switches. The Sixers could tweak their defensive approach, shading harder help toward Tatum and Brown.

Just about everything’s worth considering. Still, the heart of the matter is the Sixers appeared to be the less talented team by a wide margin in Game 1 and also had a brutal day with the factors under their control.