5 takeaways from the Boston Celtics 88-87 win vs. the Philadelphia 76ers

Celtics

Dec 2

The Boston Celtics began a tough stretch of games last night but were able to get the win over the Philadelphia 76ers, 88-87. It came down to the wire, but in the end, Boston’s solid defense helped them clinch the victory. What are some of the top takeaways from the contest?

Takeaways from the Boston Celtics win vs. the Philadelphia 76ers

1. Finding a defensive identity

Since their 2-5 start to the season, when they were giving up an average of 119.7 points per game, the Celtics have cut that down to a stingy 90.2 ppg over the last 15 (10-5 record over that span). Looks like the team is buying into Coach Ime Udoka’s defensive game plan.

2. Jayson Tatum passing improvements

All-Star forward Jayson Tatum is making an effort to be more of a distributor and rebounder. Against the Raptors, Tatum had five of his 10 assists in the fourth quarter and pulled down a game-high 16 boards in a nail-biter against the Sixers. So much for the unnamed Eastern Conference coach who said JT is a selfish player!

3. What have Pritchard and Nesmith done wrong?

This may be a head-scratcher for many people other than me. Pritchard may be in a shooting slump and needs to work his way out of it. but he and Nesmith, towards the end of the season, were relied on as quality rotation players. Yet, so far this season, both have logged multiple DNP-CD’s. Granted, Josh Richardson and Dennis Schroder have joined the Celtics as veteran players. but Pritchard and Nesmith deserve more playing time than they have been getting. Let’s hope this changes.

4. Robert Williams III is a defensive anchor

As he proved last night with the game-saving block, Time Lord makes this defense so much more effective. Perimeter defenders can be more aggressive when Williams is back there to erase potential buckets. However, he has already missed a number of games this season, including the loss to the Nets.

5. Grant Williams is shooting the lights out

Who is this version of Grant Williams? Is this the same player who missed his first 24 shots from 3 at the beginning of his NBA career? This season, G-Will leads the team making 43.2% of his 3 point attempts, and is providing offense from beyond the arc that can only help to improve floor spacing and give drivers like Brown and Tatum more room to operate. This is an unexpected and nice addition to the Celtics offense.

The Celtics’ next game will be tomorrow when they take on the Utah Jazz at TD Garden. The game tips off at 9:00 p.m. (EST) and can be streamed on NBC Sports Boston and NBA League Pass.

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