This was a classic (but rare these days) wire-to-wire shellacking the Celtics gave the Sixers. You knew it would be serious when Rondo sported the upside-down headband. The Celtics bombed away early and often from the three-point line, finishing 15-37 (!) a solid 41% clip. Avery Bradley drilled 6 in the first half, while Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger each had three. Kelly Olynyk added two threes of his own as this game quickly morphed into a Philly streetball game.
Marcus Smart once again played incredible defense, the kind that people would pay to see. Really, it’s been that fun to watch. The Celtics went into the half with a 65-44 lead, while guys like Tony Wroten were practicing the regular season tanking mode by “making plays” like this:
Allen Iverson received a standing ovation during a fourth quarter timeout, and the Sixers will need to have a lot of legends nights if the team looks like this all year. The Celtics will play the much discussed 44-minute game this Sunday against the Brooklyn Nets. They’ll then finish up the preseason against the Nets at home on Wednesday and actually open the regular season at home against the same Nets. By then we’ll all be saturated with the Nets, but until then it will be nice to end the preseason. Before the game Rajon Rondo was interviewed by Emily Austen from celtics.com. He sported an upside-down headband and gave a countdown to his interview:
The Green:
The threes were flying and going in. The C’s connected on 42% of their 30+ threes attempted. Boston had this one wrapped up by halftime, but didn’t let up at all in the second half as Philly played defense that Moses would be proud of (as in, parting the Red Sea). Jeff Green looked better in his second game, save from a nasty slip on the wet floor. Sullinger, playing for the first time without those spandex sleeves, looked solid inside and out of the paint. KO played another well-rounded game, but all of this certainly comes with a grain of salt.
The Gross:
Philly. Really, this is one of the worst teams I’ve ever seen and I’ve been watching NBA basketball for a long time. Granted, their top players were out with various injuries/issues so there is that small asterisk. Still, it’s going to be very difficult for Philly fans to watch this team all year. On the C’s side, Evan Turner did turn the ball over 8 times, but he also had another solid all-around game with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists. Smart’s defense was great, but his shooting was rough again, going 0-4 while committing 4 turnovers.
The Greenlights:
Evan Turner find Jeff Green for the dunk on the break:
Sully from the high post, threads the needle with a beautiful pass to Marcus Thornton:
Kelly Olynyk rejects Henry Sims:
Tyler Zeller with the dunk over Philly’s staunch defense:
Pressey finds Zeller for the dunk with a sweet pass:
The Grid:
- Avery Bradley shot 6-8 from 3PT range and finished the half with 20 points
- Evan Turner had 6 points, 5 rebounds and 10 assists (with 8 turnovers)
- Jared Sullinger had 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and shot 4-6 3Pt (8-10 overall)
- Tyler Zeller had his second strong game with 14 points, 7 rebounds and shot 6-9 FG
- As a team, the Celtics launched more threes tonight (37) than they had in any game last year (34 vs Washington) and connected on 15 of them, good for 41%
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
