On Saturday night, the Philadelphia 76ers continued their preseason action on the road against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, resulting in a 144-106 blowout loss.
The new-look Celtics’ dominated the Sixers on all levels despite the absences of LeBron James, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid, and other key rotation players due to rest or other injuries keeping them sidelined.
Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum lead the way for Boston, improving to a 2-0 start to the preseason. Off the bench, Pritchard had 25 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds on a efficient 7-for-12 from the field and shooting 5-for-8 from deep. The 2024-2025 NBA Sixth Man of the Year showed in his 24 minutes of play why he is one of the best NBA players coming off the bench, resulting in a +35 plus-minus. Pritchard was able to score at all three levels as he was able to get inside the basket at ease, and shoot from beyond the arc.
Tatum chipped in with 23 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. In the first quarter, Tatum had the hot hand early as he was able to get to his spots and score 10 points. As the Celtics’ lead guy, Tatum was able to jack up a lot of threes as he shot 4-f0r-10 from beyond the arc, and was 9-for-19 from the field. He also was able to get to his effective midrange where he’s able to size up and jab his defenders as the taller player to knock down easy two-point shots. When Tatum had it going, it was easy for him to turn into a point-forward with getting his teammates going and getting them easy shots.
The two newest Celtics, Paul George and Mitchell Robinson made their debuts in front of the home crowd in Boston. In his impressive debut, George had 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, with his defense highlighting his performance tonight. The former Sixer’ had a huge 5 steal game with being active and getting his hands on the ball to turn into easy points for himself or his teammates. Robinson had 6 points and 5 rebounds, with making his impact felt on the offensive glass. The big-man is one of the best offensive rebounders in the entire NBA, as he was able to grab 2 offensive rebounds for extra opportunities.
In Celtics’ head coach Joe Mazzulla system, they dominated Philly by shooting 22-for-48 from three, resulting in 46 percent from behind the arc. In the Mazzulla era, Boston shoots a lot of threes, which resulted in them winning a championship two years ago in 2024. On the defensive side, the Celtics were able to rally up 16 steals and score 34 fast break points. In previous years, Boston were at the bottom of the league in total pace as they look to play faster due to the amount of depth they have this upcoming season.
Off the bench, Hugo González and Baylor Scheierman were a big spark in the blowout win. González had 17 points and 6 rebounds on 6-for-7 shooting from the field and going 4-for-4 from three. Scheierman had an impressive 8 assists and 5 steals game, with doing a little bit of everything besides scoring. In the start of the offseason, both young players were rumored to be traded alongside former Celtic Jaylen Brown for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Celtics refused to give up their youth as they bet high on their future potential.
On the other side despite the many absences for Philly, fans were able to see the exciting play of second year player V.J. Edgecombe. In his 26 minutes of action, Edgecombe had 19 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds on 6-for-11 shooting from the field. Edgecombe continues to make strides on both sides of the court, as he works to become one of the better two-way players in the league. Offensively, he continues to get to the rim at ease due to his quickness and athleticism where he continues to apply pressure. Edgecombe went to the cup six times, as he shot 5-for-6 from the free throw line. On the defensive side, he had 4 steals to add to his great performance as the young guard makes his presence felt with the team needing his energy all season long.
The Sixers also experimented with playing Jabari Walker and Dean Wade at center at different moments of the game. Both players are not traditional centers but due to the lack of availability in recent years from star Joel Embiid and newly acquired big-man Ariel Hukporti suffering a torn right Achilles in the preseason opener, the team is using preseason to find answers. After a big-time offseason, the Sixers will continue to experiment with their entire roster as they look to be one of the last teams standing with competing for an NBA Championship.
Off the bench, Labaron Philon Jr. had 14 points, 7 assists with shooting 5-for-13 from the field and 4-for-8 from deep. The rookie guard had his best game of the preseason thus far, shooting more efficiently as his number was called more in the blowout loss.
The Celtics and the Sixers will meet again in the preseason as Philadelphia will be at home on Friday, October 16, where the Sixers’ Jaylen Brown will have the chance to play against his former team at his new home.
