76ers vs. Celtics: Player Observations After Sixers' Tight Loss in Boston
The Philadelphia 76ers kickstarted a four-game road trip on Wednesday night in Boston. After wrapping up a home stint by going 1-1 with a loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves and a win against the Orlando Magic, the Sixers looked to try and pick up a second-straight victory against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
But Philly's struggles continued. Although they kept the game within four points through the first half of action, the Sixers struggled mightily on offense as they drained just 35-percent of their shots from the field.
When they came out in the second half, the Sixers didn't do much better offensively. It wasn't until the fourth quarter the Sixers shot above 40-percent. In a rather ugly matchup for both teams, the Sixers and the Celtics took Wednesday's game down to the wire. As Boston possessed a one-point lead with just over five seconds left to go, the Sixers had one final possession to try and squeak a win out in Boston.
Unfortunately, the Sixers' final play wasn't executed as planned. And the Sixers took on their 11th defeat of the season as they fell short 88-87 on Wednesday. Now, let's observe the Sixers' individual player performances.
The Starters
For the second-straight game, Doc Rivers rolled with Danny Green in the starting lineup. As expected, Green's minutes restriction remained in place. Therefore, he played only 21 minutes. Green attempted to put his sharpshooting from deep to the test, but he managed only to hit on two of his six three-point attempts. In a game where the Sixers struggled from deep overall, Green's shooting didn't do them any favors.
That was a game Tobias Harris would probably like to forget. In 31 minutes of action, he put up 11 shots, hitting on just four of them for eight points. Not only were Harris' shots not falling, but he also continued to pass up on open shots from beyond the arc. As if his rough shooting night wasn't enough, Harris also failed to execute on the game's final play, which was supposed to be a pass to Embiid.
Speaking of nights players won't want to remember, Joel Embiid did not shine in his third game back after his nine-game COVID-19 hiatus. The veteran center led the Sixers with 17 shots attempts but only made three baskets. He finished the night with 13 points, with six of them coming from the free-throw line. It was a positive sign to see Embiid made it to the charity stripe five times, but he also struggled from the line as well by draining just 60-percent of his foul shots.
Seth Curry
There weren't too many positives coming from the Sixers on Wednesday night, but Seth Curry has looked good once again. The Sixers probably should've worked on getting him more shots as he was the most efficient shooter on Wednesday, but he put up 13 shots in 35 minutes. In total, Curry led the Sixers in scoring with 17 points.
The second-year guard's production has been way down. After he averaged around 24 points per game in the absence of Joel Embiid, Maxey put up just 12 points per game in the last two matchups before the Boston game. He did not redeem himself on Wednesday as his struggles continued. Like Curry, Maxey got up 13 shots -- but unlike the veteran two-guard -- Maxey couldn't buy a bucket. He finished the night with six points, which marks just the third time Maxey scored single digits in 22 games.
The Bench
When the Sixers seemed down and out early on, Milton revived them by giving his team a major spark off the bench. In the 22 minutes he played, Milton shot 6-11 from the field and knocked down both of his free throws to help lead the charge in scoring alongside Curry with 16 points. While the ultimate goal for the Sixers is to win games, Milton has continued to look solid in his role coming off the bench.
The Massachusetts-born reserve looked forward to playing his hometown team as a member of their rivaled Sixers. Shooting-wise, Niang struggled from the floor. Although he notched double digits by putting up 12 points, Niang missed all five of his three-point attempts. Considering he's been a boost from beyond the arc for the 76ers this year, his performance on Wednesday night was disappointing.
Defensively, Thybulle simply did what he does. Although the Sixers struggled on offense throughout the night, they had solid flashes on the defensive end, and Thybulle was a reason for that. Also, it was good to see Thybulle less hesitant to launch threes when the shots are there. However, his ability to consistently knock them down is still a work in progress, as he knocked down just one of his five three-point shots.
Andre Drummond
Playing around 15 minutes, Drummond was a sneaky boost for the Sixers in Boston. He contributed to just four points on offense and collected three rebounds on that end. Defensively, he finished the night with six rebounds, totaling for nine, and blocked two shots as well.
Lately, Korkmaz's struggles have made a case to push him out of the rotation. Leading up to Wednesday's game, Korkmaz was averaging 24 minutes per game. In the 20 games he appeared in, Korkmaz hasn't played less than 16 minutes in an outing. On Wednesday, he checked in for a season-low of six minutes. That wasn't too surprising, considering he drained just 31-percent of his threes last month and knocked down just 20-percent of them in the previous ten games. On Wednesday, he didn't put up a single shot, wrapping the game up with zero points, three assists, and a rebound.
