Coming into Thursday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers were not expected to prove particularly competitive against the reigning champs. Unfortunately, there were no real surprises as the Sixers were swiftly dealt with en route to their third straight loss.
Both sides would be without major contributors. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey, in addition to Kyle Lowry, Eric Gordon, and Jared McCain, while the Celtics were without Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingus, Al Horford, and Sam Hauser. Despite each team being significantly shorthanded, this matchup proved less than competitive as Jayson Tatum led a furious Celtics force to an easy victory.
What went right for Philadelphia?
Very little, but Kelly Oubre continues to give every last ounce of what he has for this team. On a night without Embiid, Maxey, and George, Oubre took over the scoring load, finishing the evening with 27 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three steals.
Throughout the season, Oubre has remained a consummate professional. With a team option this offseason, Oubre has done everything right to land himself a payday this offseason, whether in Philadelphia or elsewhere.
Outside of Oubre, Lonnie Walker was the Sixer of the night, enjoying his best game in Philadelphia. Despite the teamwide defensive failure, Walker enjoyed a solid night, finishing with 17 points, including a 5/10 performance from deep.
Walker needs to continue to see an extended opportunity even with the potential eventual return of Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. Hopefully Nick Nurse will be wise enough to give him that opportunity.
What went wrong?
A lot. Certainly, one can point toward Jayson Tatum’s performance as a major reason for Philadelphia’s loss, but it was Boston’s bench that truly enabled them to take over.
By maintaining that “next man up mentality,” the Celtics saw tremendous success against the Sixers throughout the entire game. Payton Prichard was predictably a thorn in the Sixers’ side, scoring 19 points along with four rebounds and six assists.
The scoring performances of Baylor Scheierman (15) and Torrey Craig (12) sealed the deal for Boston, not only giving the Celtics the win in this game but also giving the team supreme confidence in their depth as they continue this final fourth of the regular season.
Sixers standings update
A Sixers loss compounded by a Chicago Bulls win has now pushed the Sixers 3.5 games back from the 10th seed and, more importantly, a spot in the NBA’s Play-In tournament.
In terms of the reverse standings, the team both made some ground and stayed in the status quo as they are now just one game above the Toronto Raptors for the fifth-worst record in the NBA, though they remain tied with the Nets, who lost Thursday evening to the Golden State Warriors.
This is important because the Sixers’ odds of retaining their draft pick if they remain in the sixth-worst spot are just 45.8%. If they fall to the fifth spot, the Sixers’ odds of retaining their pick become 63.%, a noticeable upgrade.
With 20 games left to be played, it should also be mentioned that, despite their loss to the Houston Rockets tonight, the New Orleans Pelicans hold just a 4.5-game lead on the Sixers and have won five of their last five. They look like a team far more interested, or at least capable, of winning than the Sixers.
What’s next for the Sixers?
Philadelphia will take the next two nights off before returning home to face the Utah Jazz. Like the Sixers, the Jazz have lost three straight games. They’ve sat at the bottom of the Western Conference standings for just about the entire season.
Both of the Jazz’ top two players, Lauri Markkanen and John Collins, have yet to play in March due to lingering back issues that may or may not be a convenient way to continue to hold their spot at the bottom of the standings.
Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday night, and you can catch the game live on NBC Sports Philadelphia or, as always, listen live at 97.5 FM, the Fanatic.
