The Sixer Sense
Fansided

RECAP: Boston Celtics 114, Philadelphia 76ers 103

By Alec Liebsch

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: Atmosphere at the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics London game after party at Building Six on January 11, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for NBA London)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 11: Atmosphere at the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics London game after party at Building Six on January 11, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images for NBA London) /
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Even after a week-long hibernation from gameplay, the Philadelphia 76ers don’t look much different.

When pointing out the trends with this team, one often comes to conclusions such as poor rebounding, blowing leads, and floor spacing akin to one’s sinuses during allergy season.

Today was no different.

Fortunately, we got some late-game WWE antics from Celtics forward Marcus Morris:

As for the meat of the game, it was pretty much the usual. 76ers got hot early, built up a big lead (22 points this time), and proceeded to direct the Celtics to victory like airplane marshals.

To the 76ers’ credit, they actually shot better than Boston from three-point land. The real difference, however, was an 11-3 demolition by Beantown on the offensive glass.

B-. 31 mins | 15 pts | 10 reb | 5 ast | 2 stl | 1 blk | 4 TO | 6-17 FG | 1-5 3PT | 2-3 FT | 2 PF | -7 +/-| <strong>Summary: </strong>Embiid was contained today by a well-coached Boston defense. The lack of spacing allowed their point-preventing front to force extremely difficult shots, which is what resulted in such an inefficient outing. His rim protection was valuable enough to swallow up Kyrie Irving’s hopes and dreams with a monster block, but to minimal avail. Al Horford’s ability to space the floor pulled him away from his best area, and the defense as a whole was subsequently weakened.. C. Philadelphia 76ers. JOEL EMBIID

29 mins | 16 pts | 2 reb | 3 ast | 2 stl | 2 blk | 3 TO | 8-12 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 2 PF | -17 +/-| <strong>Summary: </strong>Simmons will always be one to contribute in every major statistic, however the stat he <em>didn’t</em> contribute in sticks out the most: free throws. As the conductor of the offense, Simmons needs to get comfortable with getting to the line. In that department, this game was the polar opposite of the last game Ben played in. To his credit, however, he blew by fellow rookie Jayson Tatum several times, bolstering his ROTY case as a result.. G/F. Philadelphia 76ers. BEN SIMMONS. B+

Philadelphia 76ers. J.J. REDICK. A. 30 mins | 22 pts | 7 reb | 3 ast | 1 stl | 0 blk | 3 TO | 7-12 FG | 5-9 3PT | 3-3 FT | 1 PF | -6 +/-| <strong>Summary:</strong> One of the few bright spots in this game, Redick was on fire in the first half. His hot shooting opened up a lot of shots for other players, and it worked in that regard. Redick’s quick trigger will always be appreciated…as long as it’s an accurate one.</p>. SG

B+. 34 mins | 14 pts | 4 reb | 3 ast | 2 stl | 0 blk | 2 TO | 4-11 FG | 1-5 3PT | 5-5 FT | 4 PF | -10 +/-| <strong>Summary: </strong>Dario had some stints of impressiveness in this game, but he failed to impact the game the way he needs to. His aggressiveness in the paint and passing vision are valuable skills, but to raise the team’s ceiling, he needs to do better than 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.. F. Philadelphia 76ers. DARIO SARIC

Philadelphia 76ers. T.J. MCCONNELL. A-. 26 mins | 12 pts | 4 reb | 5 ast | 3 stl | 0 blk | 1 TO | 6-11 FG | 0-0 3PT | 0-0 FT | 0 PF | 0 +/-| <strong>Summary: </strong>McConnell’s jitterbug-esque ability to slice through the defense is always welcome, but today it was needed to keep the team afloat. His impact is more valuable than people realize, but McConnell should not be tasked with this much responsibility. Fultz’s return should lighten his load, but for now, McConnell’s impact will be an exigency instead of a luxury.. PG

A bright side: Kyrie didn’t tear the 76ers apart today, and managed an inefficient 20 points on 20 shots. But with these Celtics, it’s about quantity, not necessarily quality. Five of them finished in double figures, one of whom was heavyweight Marcus Morris.

Next: Redick has thrived recently

No lead is safe, no matter which side of the pond the 76ers are on.