12/9/12
After coming off an emotional one point overtime win Friday night
against the Celtics, the 76ers had to travel up to Boston to play the Celtics
again. Would the home crowd give the Celtics adrenaline or would the 76ers take
advantage of an old Celtics team that could have tired legs? Sitting out for
the 76ers was Nick Young and Royal Ivey. Nick Young is still nursing a hyperextended
great left toe and Ivey has a groin strain. Jason Richardson played through a
right wrist injury. Kwame Brown was able to play tonight despite sitting out of
the last game with the flu. Avery Bradley was out for the Celtics due to a
shoulder injury he suffered last year in the playoffs.
The first half was flawless for the Celtics. The 76ers had
major flaws. Unlike what happened in Friday night’s game, the Celtics made
their shots. The 76ers could not make a shot no matter how wide open they were.
The Celtics implored a strategy of trapping Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner when
they dribbled the ball into the corner. The Celtics made it impossible for
Turner and Holiday to create plays and to create
their own shot. There was a lack of ball movement for the 76ers. When one of
the 76ers players had the ball in his hands, the other four players on the
court stood still. They also tried running the pick and roll offense and the
Celtics defended their pick and roll offense easily. At halftime the Celtics led
48-28. It was the worst half the 76ers had this season. They shot 9-39 (23%) in
the half. Meanwhile, the Celtics shot 55% in the half, which was better than
what they shot Friday night. Richardson led the
76ers with eight points in the half. Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 13
points. Coming off a horrific shooting night Friday night, Jason Terry bounced
back and scored nine points in the half.
The 76ers looked better in the second half, but it was just
not enough. When Kevin Garnett was taken out of the game, the 76ers went on a
big run that made the Celtics lead of 21 points shrink to an eight point lead
at the very least. When the lead was cut to eight, Garnett returned to the game
and the Celtics took control of the game. The 76ers scored more points in the
third quarter (29) than they did in the entire first half. The 76ers tried
fighting back in the fourth quarter, but the Celtics contained them and won the
game 92-79. Thaddeus Young scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half.
Turner finished with 13 points in the game and Holiday
ended with 11 points and collected eight assists. Garnett was close to shooting
a perfect game. He made 9-11 shots scoring 19 points. It was his first game
with no rebounds in 15 years. Jeff Green had another great night off the bench
scoring 16 points. Brandon Bass, who was nonexistent in Friday night’s game,
finished with 10 points in the game.
Overall, the 76ers had a slow start that bit them in the
butt while the Celtics were playing in a high gear for the full 48 minutes of
the game. The 76ers had trouble stopping redundant plays that the Celtics were
running. The coaching has to be better in making in-game adjustments when
things are not working. Also the 76ers have to run different plays on offense
so they don’t keep getting stuck on running pick and roll plays and not getting
to the basket. The Celtics had other players step up. Terry and Bass were
nonexistent in Friday’s game and they played better in this game.
Will this loss wake
up the 76ers and let them know that winning doesn’t last for a long time? Sound
off and stay tuned to my next entry on Monday when the 76ers host the Detroit
Pistons.
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