By: Kylan Watson

The Philadelphia 76ers were riding high coming in to their Game 1 match-up against the Boston Celtics on Monday. However, the Sixers were steamrolled by the Boston Celtics offense.  The Celtics just could not miss from beyond the arc, and the Sixers were cold through out most of the game. The Celtics hot shooting propelled them to a 117-101 victory. For the Sixers they must adjust to Boston’s playstyle and come up with a defensive plan to stop it. The Sixers must trust the adjustments Brett Brown makes or they will be in a 2-0 hole, as the series shifts to Philly on Saturday.

The Celtics were on an offensive roll from the opening tip-off, as they hit most of their shots especially from the three-point line. The Celtics hit 17-35 three-point shots and that was enough to quell the Sixers come back attempt. Celtics Point Guard, Terry Rosier benefited the most from the hot shooting night his team had.

Rosier scored 29 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and had six assists. Rozier was the one who was hitting big shots for his team. At one point the Sixers had cut Boston’s lead down to four points. However, Rozier would hit back to back three pointers to push the lead back to ten points and put the game out of reach for the Sixers.

Rozier also got help from Forward Jayson Tatum and Center Al Horford. Both players performed very well during Game 1. Tatum scored 28 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Horford scored 26 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Rozier, Horford and Tatum scored 83 of Boston’s 117 points. That offensive output was way too much for the Sixers to overcome.

The Sixers could not hit a shot especially from the three-point line. They only hit four three-pointers throughout the game. The Celtics did not allow any of the Sixers shooters to get a wide-open three-point shot. Most of the shots the Sixers took were contested. Not only were the Sixers done in by their substandard performance on the offensive end, they also had a poor showing on defense as well.

The Sixers allowed Boston to get too many wide-open shots, they also gave up a lot of points in the paint. The Sixers cannot allow any of the Celtics shooters to have easy shots in Game 2, and they must play the pick and roll better when Boston has the ball.

The Sixers now have been hit in the mouth by the Celtics and they must respond, if they do not want to be down two games heading back to Philly on Saturday night. The Sixers must attack the Celtics from the paint they relied on the three-point shot way too much in Game 1. They also must play better defense and not allow any of the Celtics shooters to have wide-open shots. The Sixers must get their shooters going early in the game. The playoffs are all about adjustments and Brett Brown must find a way to get his team to respond well if they want to beat the Celtics at home tonight at 830 pm EST.