Game 1 Final Thoughts: Sixers' Defensive Approach, Tactics and Roster Construction

Four teams chose 3s for more than 46% of their shot volume this season, according to NBA.com.

The Boston Celtics were one of them.

They averaged 90.2 shots per game, 42.1 of them were 3s. Boston was 28th in the league in the percentage of their points that were scored in the paint.

Think about that.

It's considered an institution of basketball that you protect the rim at all costs. You're supposed to live with players making long-range shots if it means you contest the rim.

The Celtics challenge that notion. So much so that it's worth considering whether you have to rewire the way you think about defense. Think about it—on average, they only attempt six more 2s than 3s per game.

Is the 2 at the rim that much of a threat?

That is a philosophical change that requires an entire offseason of restructuring to support. The Sixers have until Tuesday night to adjust.

On some level, this matchup is just a matter of horsepower. Many think the Sixers would be lucky to win two games in this series. Is a thorough trouncing in Game 1 of the series really more than a formality?

It would be one thing if this was simply a mismatch of personnel. No Joel Embiid. Tyrese Maxey's shooting hand is compromised. The Celtics are fully healthy. What can you do?

But it's not just that. Game 1 was an embarrassment. In approach. In tactic. In roster construction.

The approach

Let's take a look at the first bucket of the game as an example of the approach.

Adem Bona tags the paint because VJ Edgecombe is cross-matched on Neemias Queta in transition, leads to a trail 3 for Sam Hauser. pic.twitter.com/ud4HgFP53L
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) April 19, 2026

Sam Hauser is a career 41% 3-point shooter on league-leading attempt rates. A transition cross-match is understandably uncomfortable for those involved, but what is Neemias Queta going to do from that position to torture V.J. Edgecombe? He's not going to shoot over the top. Maybe he puts the ball on the deck, in which case you send help. But to be this sold out on stopping a non-threat that you desert a shooter of this caliber is unacceptable.

It's one shot. But an excellent bunch of shooters sees one go through early. A sniper gets early confidence. A hostile building gets a jolt of energy. It matters.

That is on Adem Bona as much as it's on anyone else. He's in the game, he's responsible for knowing personnel. Nick Nurse is not the one surrendering the open 3. Bona has to be more thoughtful than that.

On the other hand, Nurse told ABC's sideline reporter that he was dissatisfied with the volume of line drives his team allowed off the dribble. He has often pointed to that as a point of concern throughout the season. He is just as responsible for the way the players think the game through as they are.

Allowing layups is considered unacceptable defense. What if the 3 is Boston's version of a layup?

The tactic

Watching these two teams execute on offense highlights ample reason for frustration. The Sixers are a black hole outside of Embiid, Maxey, Edgecombe and Paul George. The Celtics are not. But it's the shot quality that Boston derives that is maddening.

The best way to put it is that Boston's offense is regimented so that even the most ancillary player has a fairly easy job on a shot to shot basis. The five-star meal has already been prepared. They're just sprinkling some salt on top before it is served.

Take this for example:

Hauser pump fake and 3 off Chicago action. pic.twitter.com/3zJgxYodnP
— Austin Krell’s Film Room (@AKFilmRoom) April 19, 2026

This is not complicated. It's a pin-down into a dribble handoff. George chases through both screens. Andre Drummond hedges on the handoff to contain Jayson Tatum. Maxey drops to tag the roller in help. It is a miscommunication. But the layers of the action get Hauser wide open.

This is not to detract from Hauser or any other player on the Celtics. They have developed into multi-skilled players. But these offensive structures squeeze every bit of shot quality out of non-core players. Everyone contributes.

The Sixers don't do that.

They hunt isolations. They look for mismatches. If they can get downhill, they kick to shooters.

The roster construction

But ultimately, you can run some of the best stuff in the sport, it won't matter if your supporting cast just isn't very good. The Sixers could run a Chicago action for Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr. or Quentin Grimes over and over again. Those are still just average-to-below-average shooters.

As much as the players are to blame, as much as Nurse's approach and tactic are to blame, Daryl Morey doesn't get a pass.

Maxey will stand in the spotlight of the loss. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. The Sixers will need better than 8-for-20 shooting from him if they're going to stand a chance in this series.

But the reality is this: Playoff defenses are going to sell out to stop him until they feel there are credible threats on the floor with him.

I will have more on Maxey later, but I can't get behind the 'can't build around him' talking points when:

1) Boston isn't even a little afraid of the personnel around him, and the cutting spaces aren't being used
2) this is the shot quality he's getting pic.twitter.com/7b9vfqBWN9
— Austin Krell (@NBAKrell) April 19, 2026

If you made a venn diagram of what is needed to buil around Embiid and Maxey, the one thing that would indisputably sit in the overlap would be shooting. Shooting, shooting and more shooting.

It creates space when Embiid is on the floor so that it's more of a gamble to double-team him on the catch. When you do, he has an outlet to burn the decision. And when Embiid is not available, shooting keeps helpers at home so that Maxey can attack. The Sixers were 21st in 3-point volume and 23rd in efficiency this season.

Maxey has been neither a confident nor an efficient jump-shooter since returning from his pinky injury. He has no desire to go in depth on whether it still bothers him, but it's obviously a factor. He missed his fair share of open shots in Game 1. Shots that a star absolutely has to make.

But how much can you reasonably blame him for inefficiency when there isn't structure to manufacture high-quality shots for him, personnel with the skill to keep helpers from pinching, personnel with the consistent awareness to punish cutting spaces when defenders shade toward the ball and a big chunk of his shots come with three sets of hands surrounding him?

It is absolutely baffling that there is one skill that overlaps when you think about building a team around Embiid and Maxey, and the roster has one guy who fits the mold.

The series is not over. The season is not over. But we can't talk about the future without knowing the upside of a Maxey-Edgecombe backcourt. And it's unfathomable that we still can't say whether or not Maxey can be the best player on a high-upside team because the cast around him largely does not support a 6-foot-2 score-first combo guard.

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