4 takeaways from the Boston Celtics 111-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers

Celtics

Jan 15

The Boston Celtics started off slow and sluggish on Friday night, spotting the Philadelphia 76ers an 18-point first-quarter lead. They never recovered, and their three-game winning streak was snapped. What are some of the top takeaways from the contest?

1. Slow starts becoming too much of a normality

I don’t know what it is, but too many times the Celtics do not come out of the locker room with the necessary intensity needed to start games. Many games this season have looked like last night - after 12 minutes, the team is in a double-digit hole and look dumbfounded regarding how they found themselves in that position. A solution to this issue needs to be found quickly.

2. Pritchard and Nesmith looked good

Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith came into this season expecting bigger roles after last season’s performances and the Summer League work they both put in. However, with the acquisition of Dennis Schroder and the focus on Marcus Smart being the primary orchestrator of the offense, their minutes have not been plentiful. Friday night, Pritchard continued his upward trend, scoring 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting in 24 minutes. Nesmith, while only seeing nine minutes of court time, had 10 points on 4-of-5 shots from the field to go along with two steals and a block. These two players need more playing time. Just that simple.

3. Constant ball/player movement is foreign to this team

Coach Ime Udoka stated in his introductory press conference that the Celtics were 27th in assists last season (23.3) and that just isn’t good enough. Through 43 games this season, they average 22.6 (good for 24th) - fewer assists than last season. When are we going to see a consistent effort to improve on this glaring weakness in the Celtics offense?

4. This year’s bench is much improved (so use it)

I would like to think that this year’s bench players are better than last year’s. Romeo Langford has been healthy for most of the season and Pritchard and Nesmith have grown. Schroder has been up and down, but definitely is an upgrade over Tremont Waters and Carsen Edwards.

Juancho Hermangomez is racking up DNP-CD’s (25 in 43 games) like BOGO coupons. If he is a stretch four who can rebound and shoot (shooting with size, remember that?) why isn’t he playing more? Jayson Tatum has had too many 3-20 shooting nights not to give Hermangomez a few more opportunities to help this team. Use the bench players more, please.

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