Celtics player report card: Boston drops close one against Philadelphia 76ers
The Boston Celtics dropped a close game against the Philadelphia 76ers Monday, just two nights after coming back to beat the New York Knicks. The Celtics could not put Joel Embiid and the Sixers away, despite finishing the third quarter with a lead after trailing for a majority of the game.
With both teams short-handed due to players in health and safety protocols, each teams’ stars played big minutes. That means Joel Embiid got even more minutes than he normally does and he made the most of them. Embiid worked the Celtics lean frontcourt for 41 points, including wonderous long-two in the final minute to ice the game for the Sixers. Tobias Harris and Seth Curry each scored in the mid-20’s with efficient shooting. The Sixers didn’t get much else from their roster, but evidently, they didn’t need it as they took home the win 108-103.
The Celtics struggled to secure the ball and underperformed from beyond the arc en route to the loss. They coughed up 18 turnovers to 16 assists and finished shooting 25.9% from deep. Against a team with a legitimate star and a solid supporting cast like the Sixers, that’s not going to win many games. However, they still almost did and overall gave an energetic effort at times. The closing quality is still lacking from this team at the moment, though, as they fall to 15-16 on the season.
Here are some player grades from the loss.
Marcus Smart: A
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Guard-forward-center Marcus Smart was active everywhere on the court Monday. His energy on defensive created a number of opportunities for the Celtics, including a picked pass in the first quarter that led to a breakaway slam.
He finished the night with 15 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block in the loss. His three assists also sell him a bit short, he had a couple of other would-be assists on insightful pass attempts that his teammates didn’t convert.
Dennis Schroder: C
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After missing the last two games, guard Dennis Schroder had one of his quieter nights in a Celtics uniform. He went 3-for-10 from the field for 10 points, three rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes. Outside of some midrange shooting and a charge in the third quarter, Schroder was out of the spolight.
Enes Kanter Freedom: A
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Thrust into a starting role with Al Horford and Robert Williams III on the shelf, Enes Kanter Freedom put up his best performance of the season. In 40 minutes, the 6-foot-10 center had his second double-double of the year with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He cleaned the offensive glass as he is known to do, with six of his 11 boards coming on offense. He also got a steal as well.
Jaylen Brown: A-
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Brown did a bit of everything to go along with his 30-point night. He grabbed five rebounds, got four assists and a pair of steals. One of those assists was a pretty lob to Smart in transition. Overall it was a very solid night for the California product.
While he wasn’t stellar from three-point range, going 3-for-9, he still shot an efficient enough 41% from the floor. He attacked the basket and got to the line a bunch, hitting 9-of-10 from the stripe.
Jayson Tatum: B-
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Forward Jayson Tatum, the Celtics talisman, played with some energy. He moved the ball fairly well, although he did get into trouble with turnovers. His passing vision was quite impressive on some plays, especially a pass to Smart in the third quarter for a three. He was active defensively, getting involved on the glass and getting a pair of blocks and steals.
His shooting wasn’t on target for much of the day, going 5-for-14 from the floor and 0-for-3 from three-point range. That’s going to happen, especially running point for much of the game matched up against a defender like Matisse Thybulle without the full roster around you to make things happen.
The bench
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Aaron Nesmith: B-
Romeo Langford: C-
With much of the roster in protocols, the bench was quite thin Monday. Only four players registered minutes off the bench, and three enough to grade.
Guard Payton Pritchard showed once again that he should be in the conversation for rotation minutes with his second-straight double-digit scoring performance. He was a presence in the final quarter, scoring seven of his 14 total points in the fourth. He shot an efficient 6-for-9 with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. In 22 bench minutes, that’s a grade A job.
Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford each logged time as well, but to much less success. Nesmith, also known as “crash,” had a rocking slam in the second quarter and a trio of rebounds, but that was essentially it for him. Langford had a stiff block in the second but did not score.
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
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