BOSTON – Taking Game 1 over Philadelphia by a surprisingly comfortable 16-point margin, the Celtics clearly did a lot of things that worked well.
And while it goes without saying that the Sixers will try and make adjustments leading up to tonight’s Game 2 matchup, don’t expect the Celtics to sit back and rest on the merits of their Game 1 victory.
“We have to play better defensively,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. “We have to play better on offense. If you don’t get better in Game 2 than Game 1, then you probably get beat.”
Despite the Celtics win, Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid absolutely dominated, finishing with 31 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.
The Sixers also went to the free-throw line for 35 attempts compared to 19 for Boston.
And Boston came up short on the boards 45-36, which was a factor in Boston being outscored 18-13 on second-chance points.
Boston Celtics
“That’s what film’s for,” said Boston’s Terry Rozier. “Look at it, get better and move on in Game 2.”
Rozier understands much of the talk leading up to tonight’s game will center on areas in which the Sixers will look to improve upon.
“They could have done better, we could have done better too,” Rozier said. “So that’s why it’s even more scary and this series is going to be a lot of fun.”
Game 1 was a striking contrast because of how both teams arrived at the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Boston advanced after a grueling, seven-game series with Milwaukee.
Meanwhile, the Sixers had little problem disposing of the Miami Heat in five games which created a large vacuum of time for Philly without games that was indeed a factor in how Philadelphia played on Monday.
“Had a little too much time off,” said the Sixers’ Robert Covington. “We kind of got out of rhythm. We know what we gotta do and we know what it came down to. Once we get back on the floor compared where we had been like the last series, this team bounces back right when we need to be.”
Philadelphia will also try and get more mileage from 3-point range.
The 3-point shot was a big part of Philly vanquishing the Heat in no time, connecting on more than 10 per game.
But against the Celtics in Game 1, the Sixers lost their long-range touch, making just 19.2 percent (5-for-26) from 3-point range.
“There’s a lot of things we can do better,” said Philly guard J.J. Redick. “I’ve watched the game, (Monday) night and again (Tuesday) morning, I don’t necessarily think it’s an adjustment thing. I think we need to be better at what we do. We weren’t great at what we do. Our communication wasn’t great, our switching wasn’t great. Pick and roll coverage wasn’t great. When they got switches in the post, we didn’t bring a guy from the baseline … we messed up a lot of stuff. We have to be better.”
And while Boston may have taken the first game, they come into tonight’s Game 2 matchup with a similar mindset.
“Our focus is on us,” Stevens said. “Clearly, they may make some tweaks, they may make some changes. That is probably what’s going to happen. But at the end of the day, we have to focus on playing well and do what we do best and reacting appropriately to any tweaks or changes they make. It goes back to the same stuff. You gotta run back in transition, you gotta rebound, fight for balls, be smart on offense. If you do that, you give yourself the best shot.”