3. Deflections, deflections, deflections
The offense wasn’t there right away, but the defense sure was. The Philadelphia 76ers’ armada of big, long defenders gave Boston a run for their money
It was evident in the team’s “stock” numbers (steals plus blocks), which more than doubled Beantown’s, 13-6.
That aggressiveness came at a cost though. Several Sixers got into foul trouble: Al Horford, Joel Embiid, Matisse Thybulle and James Ennis amassed five personal fouls each, with Josh Richardson and Ben Simmons tallying four apiece. Luckily the Celtics weren’t too great at capitalizing on those mistakes, only going 20-for-34 from the free throw line (58.8 percent).
As mentioned previously, Thybulle and Richardson were all over the place, but they were far from alone. Embiid chipped in with three blocks, Tobias Harris had two steals and Ben Simmons was quietly effective across several matchups.
The Celtics didn’t capitalize on much because the Sixers didn’t let them. They were on brand with their size and physicality, wearing down Boston to open up opportunities offensively.