The schedule makers certainly didn’t ease the Philadelphia 76ers into the regular season to any degree, starting them off with consecutive games against the last two clubs to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. With the number of new parts being worked into the rotation, the Sixers could have used more of a cushiony runway. In Tuesday night’s 126-117 loss to Boston, numerous Philadelphia defensive miscommunications led to open looks for the Celtics, who looked much more cohesive with nearly the same rotation intact and available from last year’s Finals squad.
After making comments about focusing on the team’s defensive identity, Joel Embiid did not look the part in Game 1 of 82, putting forth one of his poorer outings on that end of the court, complete with early foul trouble and step-slow decision making.