{"id":101458,"date":"2022-10-19T07:06:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T07:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/76ers-vs-celtics-james-harden-shines-but-joel-embiid-sixers-defense-struggle-in-nba-opening-night-loss-to-celtics\/"},"modified":"2022-10-19T07:06:09","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T07:06:09","slug":"76ers-vs-celtics-james-harden-shines-but-joel-embiid-sixers-defense-struggle-in-nba-opening-night-loss-to-celtics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/76ers-vs-celtics-james-harden-shines-but-joel-embiid-sixers-defense-struggle-in-nba-opening-night-loss-to-celtics\/","title":{"rendered":"76ers vs.  Celtics James Harden shines, but Joel Embiid, Sixers&#8217; defense struggle in NBA opening night loss to Celtics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p id=\"eW1zZO\">The 76ers were unable to keep the good Philadelphia sports vibes rolling as they dropped the season opener 126-117 to the Celtics Tuesday night in Boston.  Despite 35 points from James Harden, it wasn&#8217;t enough to overcome a dreadful Joel Embiid performance and a scorcher from Jayson Tatum. <\/p>\n<p id=\"FHwKB3\">Here are some instant takeaways from the season opener. <\/p>\n<h3 id=\"o6Lwf7\"><strong>first half<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"RiolPr\">It could not have been a colder start for the Sixers.  Boston&#8217;s defense was absolutely smothering out of the gate.  Philly struggled to get shots off as they got off to just a 1-of-7 start from the field and turned the ball over three times in the first three minutes of action.  The audio on the TNT feed was ahead of the game action, which was jarring. <\/li>\n<li id=\"1foE7Z\">Tobias Harris looked very good early on.  His eight first-quarter points woke Philly up in a sense.  Harris continued the 3-and-D role he took up last postseason, guarding Jaylen Brown on the defensive end and letting threes fly quickly on the offensive end. <\/li>\n<li id=\"zyJHwi\">James Harden had an excellent first quarter, scoring 16 of Philly&#8217;s first 29 points.  He drew a foul on his patented step-back three three times in the first quarter, and went to the line eight times in total in the first period. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"Zfs6ac\">Joel Embiid did not look sharp out of the gate.  Boston did a good job of knowing when to send double teams at him and making he sure he wasn&#8217;t catching the ball near the basket.  Jayson Tatum&#8217;s help defense was particularly frustrating for the big fella. <\/li>\n<li id=\"qyJw5c\">It was truly a wild first half for Harden, with 22 points on 5 of 9 shooting and four assists to boot, he had everyone talking when he shimmed Marcus Smart out of the picture, but barely hit the rim on the three ball.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"gKAVpC\">Only to come down and hit this as the shot clock expired only a few possessions later<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"jeNz7N\">The second quarter had a completely different tone from the first, as both offenses came alive.  The Sixers shot 65 percent from the field in the second, and the Celtics shot 71 percent as the game went into halftime locked up at 63. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 id=\"9Rnoy1\"><strong>second half<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"VFlcQT\">A very eventful start to the second half, as a tangle-up with Smart and Embiid led to a technical foul on Smart.  The third quarter began to unravel for Philly.  They weren&#8217;t able to get much of anything going on the offensive end.  They looked completely stagnant, too often watching Embiid and Harden use the entire shot clock trying to create something.  The Sixers were also too careless with the basketball, doubling the Celtics in turnovers and being beat 22-2 in fast-break points through three quarters.<\/li>\n<li id=\"PU6JkK\">While his box score numbers weren&#8217;t horrendous (26 points on 9-18 shooting, 15 rebounds) Embiid&#8217;s performance left a lot to be desired.  He looked checked out on both ends in the second, missing some rotations leading to easy Celtics baskets.  While this may cause some Sixers fans to panic, remember he looked similarly lethargic in the season opener last year in New Orleans. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"R5PAAu\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I get wanting to have one of Harden or Embiid on the floor at all times, but it might make sense to give Tyrese Maxey some run as the No.  1 option for stretches.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Paul Hudrick (@PaulHudrick) <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PaulHudrick\/status\/1582546126376353792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\">October 19, 2022<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li id=\"232jbl\">Philly struggled to contain Jayson Tatum all night, but his third quarter was especially back breaking.  Seventeen of his 35 came in the frame.  The Sixers had their hands full with both Jays, as Jaylen Brown finished with 35 points of his own. <\/li>\n<li id=\"ANrLLf\">The Sixers finally got Tyrese Maxey involved as the fourth quarter started, but it was too little, too late.  They were simply trading baskets down 10 by this point, unable to make a serious dent in the lead.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p id=\"lZGwhQ\">You can listen to Jackson Frank and Jas Kang&#8217;s postgame podcast below:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 76ers were unable to keep the good Philadelphia sports vibes rolling as they dropped the season opener 126-117 to the Celtics Tuesday night in Boston. Despite 35 points from James Harden, it wasn&#8217;t enough to overcome a dreadful Joel Embiid performance and a scorcher from Jayson Tatum. Here are some instant takeaways from the &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/76ers-vs-celtics-james-harden-shines-but-joel-embiid-sixers-defense-struggle-in-nba-opening-night-loss-to-celtics\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">76ers vs.  Celtics James Harden shines, but Joel Embiid, Sixers&#8217; defense struggle in NBA opening night loss to Celtics<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":105329,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/after-sixers-fall-to-0-3-joel-embiid-reveals-he-was-shut-down-with-plantar-fasciitis-before-training-camp\/","url_meta":{"origin":101458,"position":0},"title":"After Sixers fall to 0-3, Joel Embiid reveals he was shut down with plantar fasciitis before training camp","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Things are not going as planned for the Philadelphia 76ers, and that was apparently true before the season as well.The Sixers fell to 0-3 in embarrassing fashion on Saturday, losing 114-105 to the San Antonio Spurs. 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Check out NBCSports.com every weekday morning to catch up on what you missed the night before plus the rumors, drama, and dunks that make the NBA must-watch.1) Lakers can't shoot, Warriors can. ballgame.Forget about whether Russell Westbrook\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":103694,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/james-harden-dominates-again-sixers-drop-to-0-2-in-loss-to-bucks\/","url_meta":{"origin":101458,"position":2},"title":"James Harden dominates again, Sixers drop to 0-2 in loss to Bucks","date":"October 21, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Sixers took to their home floor for the first time this season, as they welcomed Giannis Antetekounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks to town Thursday night. Despite a 31-point performance from James Harden, the Sixers were unable to complete the comeback. A Wesley Matthews three with thirty seconds left was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":101329,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/celtics-vs-76ers-score-takeaways-boston-takes-down-philadelphia-in-nbas-regular-season-opener\/","url_meta":{"origin":101458,"position":3},"title":"Celtics vs.  76ers score, takeaways: Boston takes down Philadelphia in NBA&#8217;s regular season opener","date":"October 19, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Boston Celtics made it all the way to the NBA Finals last June. However, they still entered the new season facing plenty of questions after suspending their coach for a year and replacing him with a guy with no previous experience at the NBA level over the offseason. Despite\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":111624,"url":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/tyrese-maxey-sets-career-high-76ers-win-without-joel-embiid\/","url_meta":{"origin":101458,"position":4},"title":"Tyrese Maxey sets career high;  76ers win without Joel Embiid","date":"October 29, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"TORONTO -- Tyrese Maxey scored a career-high 44 points, carrying the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid to a 112-90 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.Embiid sat out because of a sore right knee. A five-time All Star and the reigning NBA scoring champion, Embiid is averaging 27.6 points\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/thumbor\/2dSlu3ciGLnmmgILgEoA3jCZJzk=\/0x0:3686x1930\/fit-in\/1200x630\/cdn.vox-cdn.com\/uploads\/chorus_asset\/file\/24121903\/1434561617.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101458"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101458"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101458\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}