Boston Celtics
I was expecting this to be an interesting matchup considering both the Celtics and the 76ers are expected to be contenders at the top of the Eastern Conference this season. If I’m honest, it ended up being a bit of a letdown.
The Celtics are a team in transition. Like many teams in the NBA this season, they will need time to find their footing. Five of last season’s top eight scorers are not on the roster for 2019-20. And the change includes the departure of Kyrie Irving and the arrival of Kemba Walker. It was very clear that the Celtics are a team without an identity to start the season.
The offensive shot selection early in the game was questionable at best. There wasn’t any rhythm as a unit and it felt like every offensive attempt was very forced. It’s early in the season and with so many new faces, that is to be expected.
It’s something they’re going to have to get figured out as soon as possible. Especially with teams like the Raptors and Bucks to contend with. With more returning faces from last season, both are likely to be more cohesive earlier in the season.
Gordon Hayward’s opening night performance looks to be a step in the right direction. He had 25 points on 8-15 shooting from the field and went 9-11 from the free-throw line. Hopefully, he can carry averages like that throughout the season.
Boston’s three-point shooting was also a major issue. As a team they took 26 shots from range, draining only seven. In fact, Boston’s shooting, in general, was just pretty bad. A quick look at the shot chart tells a pretty clear story. They attempted 90 field goals and only made 33. The game could have been lost by a much larger margin than it was. But Boston was able to get to the free-throw line 34 times and make 20 of them.
Possibly the fact that Boston played 12 guys in that game contributed to the lack of offensive chemistry. There were a few offensive moments that looked pretty good but nothing about them felt deliberate. I mean, when you put a bunch of NBA level basketball players on the floor together, some good things are bound to happen from time to time. But for the Celtics to achieve at the levels they expect to this season, they’re going to have to do much much better.
Having a defensive answer for Embiid is worth mentioning in Boston’s favor. On a few defensive trips, they were able to keep Embiid out of the paint forcing him to take mid-range jumpers. He missed each time they did that.
The plus/minus stats are not always an accurate way to tell a team’s performance. But on occasion, it gives a good snapshot of the game. The fact that only one player who took the floor for Boston out of 12 that played had a positive plus/minus is pretty telling.