Sixers vs. Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 1 defeat

2. The defense is a mess

The Sixers had some good and some bad on the defensive end Monday night.

Josh Richardson and Matisse Thybulle fell on the good end of the spectrum. While neither was perfect, both were tasked with Boston’s two most challenging assignments — Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker — and did a respectable job shadowing both. Tatum led all scorers with 32, but Thybulle and Richardson didn’t let him cruise there unimpeded.

Also positive was Joel Embiid, who made some generally nice plays protecting the rim. Philadelphia’s drop coverage — which had Embiid essentially camped out in the paint all night — was mostly ineffective, but Embiid was solid individually.

That drop coverage, however, may not last long. While Daniel Theis is a minimal threat from deep, not having Embiid (or Horford) anywhere near the 3-point line too often allows Kemba Walker to dribble into wide-open pull-up jumpers. Not the ideal outcome, and one Walker is bound to take advantage of if Philadelphia doesn’t make a change.

Generally sparking, the Celtics did a good job of forcing switches and then taking advantage. It’s why Korkmaz was only on the floor for seven minutes. Some of Walker’s open 3s came after getting Horford on the switch, then immediately losing him on a screen. Tatum, despite good efforts from Richardson and Thybulle, was automatic for stretches. Marcus Smart did well when bigs were switched onto him as well.

Boston is great at generating favorable matchups and taking advantage. When the starting lineups already feature favorable matchups out of the gate — such as Horford defending Brown — it’s difficult to slow the Celtics down for 48 minutes.

Brett Brown will need to adjust.