By: Kylan Watson

After falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Boston Celtics for their regular season finale. Boston just had too much fire power for the injured Sixers to keep up with and the Celtics beat them 123-105.

The Sixers once again found their offensive rhythm early in this game and that allowed them to keep up with Boston’s explosive offense early in the contest. Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 27 points in this contest and was one of the lone bright spots for them in this game. He has really stepped up in the absence of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George.

Oubre Jr. is one of the few 76ers who bring it during every contest, despite the bone-headed plays at time. He at least brings energy to a Philly squad that can look dead at times. He continues to carve out a role for himself and has fine-tuned his game just enough to be a star in his role. Continuing to develop his game throughout the rest of this season and the off-season, will make him one of the more valuable players on Philly’s roster.

Jayson Tatum dominated this game against Philly’s outmatched defenders, it did not matter if there was a hand in his face or not, he found a way to find the bottom of the net. Tatum scored 35 points and made five/11 three-pointers in this contest. He was able to get whatever he wanted from the field in this contest and with Philly lacking a true paint presence to deter him. He was able to attack the rim with reckless abandon and create high-percentage shooting opportunities for his teammates.

After having a remarkably successful season last year, Tatum has come back as one of the main forces of a high-powered roster. The way he is playing right now should scare any team that has to play Boston these next few weeks. Tatum has come back like he is on a mission to truly establish himself as one of the best players in basketball.

The Sixers will have to find some way to keep on being competitive in these games and string together as many wins as they can. Oubre Jr. and Quentin Grimes have stepped up during the last few games, but other players must join them if they want to turn this three-game losing streak around. Their schedule does lighten up in the next few weeks, but the way Philly has been playing lately should not provide the fans with much comfort.

Philly will now prepare to face the Utah Jazz on Sunday night, another team that has also struggled throughout the season but can easily beat the Sixers if given the opportunity. The Sixers must cash in on the high-percentage shooting opportunities created off their ball movement and limit the Jazz to one possession. The Jazz are a team that if you give them more than one opportunity to get a shot up, they will make you pay for that mistake. Implementing these things into their game plan should put Philly in a great position to win their 22^nd game of the season.