The Philadelphia 76ers left little doubt where things stand after a 144-106 preseason loss to the Boston Celtics, a result that followed their 120-97 win over the defending champions on Monday and quickly cooled the buzz around the new-look roster. Boston jumped ahead early, never gave the lead back, and did plenty of damage from the field, shooting 53%.
Payton Pritchard paced the Celtics with 25 points, four rebounds, and seven assists while going 7-12 from the floor and 5-8 from three. Jayson Tatum added 23 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal on 9-19 shooting. In his unofficial Celtics debut, Paul George chipped in 13 points, five rebounds, four assists, and five steals while shooting 3-10.
Philadelphia got its best night from V.J. Edgecombe, who finished with 19 points, three rebounds, four assists, and four steals on 6-11 shooting.
Labaron Philon Jr. added 14 points, two rebounds, seven assists, and one steal off the bench. Tyrese Maxey, meanwhile, had a rougher time finding a groove, finishing with eight points on 2-10 shooting.
Maxey’s night stood out for the wrong reasons because he’s still the engine of this team, even with the additions of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. After looking solid on Thursday with 14 points on 5-8 shooting, he was much less comfortable here, hitting just 2 of 10 shots and 1 of 6 from deep in 18 minutes.
He also committed two turnovers and three personal fouls. The shot-making has always been there, but the new personnel around him is forcing him into a different role, and he looked like a player trying to force the action rather than settle into it.
The frontcourt situation was just as troubling. Joel Embiid sat out, which wasn’t a surprise given his history, but his absence showed how little traditional center depth the 76ers have behind him and Adem Bona.
Philadelphia ended up using 6’7″ Jabari Walker at center, and Boston punished that mismatch on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 63-34. Ariel Hukporti’s season-ending injury only makes the issue sharper.
The team can theoretically use LeBron James at center during the season, and head coach Nick Nurse has already floated that idea, but this game made clear that it is far from ideal.
Walker was one of the few real positives for Philadelphia. He logged 27 minutes, scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds, and dished two assists while going 6-11 from the field.
He also took seven threes, making two of them, and his activity level stood out throughout the night. If that perimeter confidence holds, he could become more than just an emergency option in the frontcourt.
Defensively, the Sixers had too many empty possessions and too many easy looks allowed. They gave up open threes and transition chances all night, and Boston made them pay by shooting 46% from deep and racking up 35 assists.
The missing defenders matter, but the habits were still obvious. Maxey and Edgecombe were active, but they were also part of the problem on that end.
For a team with championship expectations, nights like this expose how much work still needs to be done.
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Paul George Just Sent Celtics Fans A Clear Jayson Tatum Message
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George has made it clear he does not want the spotlight framed as a two-man race, and that matters for how this partnership could be judged in Boston. Rather than chasing the label of the guy, he wants to complement Tatum and help push him into a higher conversation, which tells Celtics fans a lot about the tone George wants to set before the season even starts. [Read more 🡒]