Celtics’ Green Not the Sixers’ Color

By Sean Kennedy

For the second straight game, the Sixers dug themselves a double-digit deficit and tried to claw their way back in the closing minutes, only to fall short in a 114-108 defeat. The man at the eye of the storm for the Celtics was Jeff Green, who started things off in the end of the second quarter, with a sequence where he threw home a one-handed alley-oop off a Rondo pass and then drilled a three on the Celtics next possession. However, Green really caught fire in the third quarter, scoring 13 points over a 2-minute span (3-3 from three and 4-4 from the line) and finishing with 17 points in all in the period. The final tally for Green was 36 points, 8 rebounds, and 5-7 shooting from behind the arc, becoming the latest Sixers opponent to catch fire from downtown.

Alongside Green’s big shooting night, the man at the center of everything for the Celtics was returning star Rajon Rondo. Rondo had one of his vintage under-the-radar near-triple-doubles with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. The Celtics looked so much more controlled offensively with their point guard in the lineup, as he probed the Sixers’ weak pick-and-roll defense and when the secondary help slid over, found the open man for a lay-up or three-point attempt. The Celtics piled up 34 points in the first quarter, assisting on an incredible 13 of their 14 made baskets in the frame, and much of that was due to the calming influence of their floor general.

The Sixers by no means gave up in this game, though, and I’ll always take these type of losses over disinterested efforts like we saw in Atlanta last week. Thad Young led the way with 20 points, doing typical Thad Young things around the basket and staying the course from the outside, with 2 more made threes including one from way downtown right at the end of the shot clock in the first quarter. Oddly enough, he didn’t have a defensive rebound on the game but that seemed more flukish than anything as the Celtics weren’t killing the offensive boards. Spencer Hawes also played a decent game on the interior, with a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double to go with 3 blocks. Big Spence didn’t have the outside shot working on the night, but certainly contributed in other ways. All in all, the boys fought hard and did a little better job taking care of the basketball, but the team was basically designed to lose; these losses are going to happen. They’ll face another team struggling to find wins when they play the banged-up Lakers Friday.

Box Score

Notable Observations:

• Tony Wroten showed that practice does, in fact, make perfect, nailing a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer to end the third quarter. As we’ve mentioned before on here, Wroten is one of the few pros who still tries to hit shots before the buzzer, not worrying about his FG% being affected, so it was great to see him get all the love for hitting the big shot for the Sixers last night. Wroten also did a nice job attacking the basket and getting to the foul line, finishing with 18 points. Reminder: Sam Hinkie got him for nothing.
• Michael Carter-Williams was named the Eastern Conference rookie of the month for January. This marks the second time he’s won the award this season (the other being the opening October-November stretch), which makes him only the second Sixer to have multiple rookie of the month awards alongside Allen Iverson (who did it during the 96-97 season). Sixers fans can only hope MCW continues to earn similar accolades as the Answer, although hopefully with a better attitude toward practice and casino employees.
• James Anderson went to the locker room in the first half with a back injury following a hard foul committed against him on the fast break. He returned to action in the third quarter but sat out the entire fourth. That injury might be something to keep an eye on going forward; it could be one of those situations where management ensures he fully rests it up before retaking the floor. After all, the team isn’t concerned about losses this season.

Tanking Implications:

Huge game from a tanking perspective for the Sixers who have now lost four straight and allowed Boston to widen the gap between them at the bottom portion of the standings. Milwaukee appears to be far too dysfunctional for the Sixers to slide past in the cellar, but Philadelphia is just a game and a half ahead of Orlando for the second-worst record in the league. Other than Wroten’s big shot, the only other young guy to have an above-average night was Lavoy Allen, who recorded a double-double and continued to show more fire on the offensive boards lately with 5 on the evening. 4/5 tanks