Biggest takeaway for 76ers after Game 1? ‘Not to overreact'

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BOSTON -- No matter how many no-look, head-turning passes Ben Simmons made Monday night, it couldm't make amends for the stinker of a game that he and most his Philadelphia teammates played in losing 117-101 to the Celtics in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series.

"We sucked, we sucked," said Simmons, who had more turnovers (7) than assists (6), said at 76ers practice on Tuesday. "Defensively, offensively, we didn't play at all."

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Joel Embiid offered similar sentiments about the team's struggles, but his explanation was a bit more detailed.

"Defensively, we didn't guard our own man," he said. "We didn't stick to the game plan. A lot of times we were over-helping, especially me."

There are a number of things the Sixers will look to do in order to tie the best-of-seven series. But don't look for them to make any radical changes.

"Not to overreact; that's the biggest thing.," said Sixers guard J.J. Redick. "We know what we're capable of, how good we can be. We've played good basketball since Christmas. So, we're fine. We have to be better. That's the bottom line. We have to be better offensively and better defensively, so it's no over-reaction on our part."

Simmons offered up similar sentiments for Philly's approach to Thursday's Game 2 matchup.

"It's one of those things, we're 20-2 in the last 22 (games, dating back to the regular season)," Simmons said. "So, we're not gonna lose our minds and get all crazy or anything like that. We know how we play as a team. We just have to fix it."

While the Sixers tried to downplay their lengthy siesta -- five days off -- after beating Miami in five games, there's no question the long layoff was a factor in their play in Game 1.

"We can have a better awareness on defense," the Sixers' Robert Covington told NBC Sports Boston. "We were a tad bit slow yesterday. That comes from almost having a week off; that rhythm was off. Overall, we had that time off and it was good for our bodies. But the momentum we had, it kind of messed us up a little bit."

For the Sixers, there's plenty from Game 1 that can be used as a teaching tool . . . which makes a lot of sense considering Philly is the second-youngest team in the NBA.

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But more than anything, they see the key to turning things around in Game 2 will lie in just playing better.

"For us, we need to lock in and get it done, and not talk about it," Simmons said. "We know what we've done wrong, offensively and defensively. We know what mistakes we made. We just have to go out and fix it. It's not really a wake-up call. We know we're in the playoffs and this is an important matchup."

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