Woof

The Sixers came out of the break relatively healthy but it didn’t matter as they got absolutely steamrolled on their home court by the defending champion Celtics.

This organization does not need to enact any sort of plan to tank the rest of the way.

They’re just that bad on their own.

The Sixers kicked off their second half of the season by getting destroyed 124-104 by the Boston Celtics Thursday night.

Paul George led the Sixers in scoring with 17 points shooting 7-of-14 from the floor. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Tyrese Maxey each had 16 points a piece, and Joel Embiid had 15 points shooting 3-of-9 from the floor.

Payton Pritchard led all scorers with 28 points. Jaylen Brown finished with 20, and Jayson Tatum went for 15 points, 11 boards and 10 assists.

Here are some thoughts from the Center.

First Quarter

• Not the cleanest start for the Sixers thanks to a couple of turnovers, but George’s jumpshots were falling early. On the other end though Boston scored on their first five trips down the floor, already getting to the rim with ease.
• As they like to do, Boston opened the game with Jrue Holiday guarding Embiid. While that had Embiid stymied, starting the game 1-of-4 from the field, Oubre took advantage of the Celtics sagging off of him by filling cutting lanes.

• The Sixers were fairly efficient from inside the arc. They shot 47% in the quarter despite going 2-of-9 from three. That put them behind in the math battle though as the Celtics shot a blistering 8-of-12 from deep, allowing them to get out to an eight-point lead after one.

Second Quarter

• A lot of the Celtics’ threes in the first quarter were shots they had to work for. They got some freebies to start the second though as the Sixers just left Pritchard wide open a couple times. Their hedging and recovering on screens was a mess, and led to several blown assignments.
• Andre Drummond had the first relief of Embiid, and he had a rough go of things. He smoked a couple of layups and got called for three seconds in the lane on both ends of the floor. He’s looked like he’s been playing in quicksand since returning from the toe injury.
• They still couldn’t buy a three, but the Sixers’ offense was still playing well. Embiid had gotten in a groove down on the block as he got the line seven times in the half. Maxey and Oubre were trying to play as fast as possible, running off of every miss they could. Boston still wasn’t really missing though as they were able to answer with a three every time. The Sixers went into the half trailing by 16.

Third Quarter

• Shockingly, the Sixers throwing a little zone in did not stop the Celtics’ three-point shooting barrage. The Sixers also came out of the break with less intensity and it showed with their breakdowns in coverages.
• Nick Nurse only went eight deep in the first half. He went a little bit deeper as Jared Butler and David Roddy checked in a couple minutes apart. They combined to miss their first five shots though as the deficit grew and the boos were loudly raining down.
• Not only was Boston having a terrific game from three but the Sixers were having a horrific one. After making two in a row, Ricky Council IV brought them up to 6-of-32 on the night. They trailed by 26 after three.

Fourth Quarter

• It happened.
• This three-game homestand continues for the Sixers as they’ll welcome the Brooklyn Nets to town. They’ll square off Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET.