Celtics doomed by their defensive no-show in Game 1 loss to 76ers

BOSTON -- The Celtics have become quite good at saying that they've learned a lesson whenever they don't play up to their standards or let a winnable game slip away. They spent the weekend proclaiming that going six games with the Atlanta Hawks in the first round was a humbling experience, proof that just showing up won't lead to victory.

But they should have already known that by now, and their talk remains just talk. The Celtics simply showed up Monday night for Game 1 against the Joel Embiid-less 76ers at TD Garden and expected to win. That was crystal clear throughout 48 frustrating minutes.

The Celtics shot lights out on offense -- hitting 58.7 percent of their shots -- and could have won the game by 20 points. But they decided to play little-to-no defense throughout, made no adjustments as James Harden started to really heat up, and they became careless with the basketball. It led to an inexcusable 119-115 loss to fall into a 0-1 series hole, and a squandered opportunity to set a tone for the series.

Now the Celtics are talking again. Talking about having to be better. Talking about learning from their mistakes.

"They just came out more prepared than we did," said Jaylen Brown, who had 23 points for the Celtics. "They came out and played their asses off and they have a great game and we had a mediocre game, and we lost."

"They were just in a rhythm throughout the whole game. I don't think our pressure and intensity was necessarily as high as it should have been over the game," added Jayson Tatum, who said the C's were too comfortable throughout the loss. 

Good points by everyone, but enough talk. How about some action?

Harden turned back the clock on Monday night, scorching the Celtics for 45 points (matching his postseason career high) on 17-for-30 shooting. He hit seven of his 14 threes, including the game-winning triple over Al Horford with 8.1 seconds left. 

That bucket was a microcosm of the entire game. Down 115-114, Harden called for a screen to get the pesky Marcus Smart off him. The switch-centric Celtics ended up putting Al Horford on the Philly sharpshooter.

There was no help for Horford, who was on an island against one of the best scorers in NBA history. Harden calmly drained the go-ahead three with the shot clock winding down, to the shock of no one inside TD Garden.

Philadelphia had loads of success attacking Horford in pick-and-rolls throughout the night. But the Celtics stayed the course on that final Philly possession, and it bit them. Even with that result, head coach Joe Mazzulla said that he had no regrets having Horford switch on Harden for that possession. 

"Al is one of our best defenders. He has been all year," said the rookie head coach. "[Harden] made a big shot."

It's easy to understand why the Celtics didn't want to double Harden. Tyrese Maxey (24 points), Tobias Harris (18 points off 50 percent shooting), and De'Anthony Melton (17 points) were also feeling it as they picked up the offensive slack left by Embiid's absence. And the few times the Celtics did send a double at the bearded wonder, Harden found the open man to drain an easy three.

"We doubled in the first half, and they got six points off double-teams on Harden," said Mazzulla. "Hindsight is always 20-20. If we didn't double him, it would have been great defense. If we did double him, and they hit a shot, it would've been, 'Why did we double him?'"

But an adjustment or two throughout the game could have made a difference. 

Philadelphia shot 50.6 percent from the floor and 44.7 from 3-point range on Monday night. It was one of the worst defensive performances by the Celtics all season, and a continuation of the defense we saw during the first round against Atlanta. The Celtics are allowing 118.5 points per game since holding the Hawks to just 99 points in Game 1. Their 116.3 defensive rating overall is the worst among the remaining playoff teams, tied with the Phoenix Suns.

"We didn't get stops all night long and that's really the answer," said guard Malcolm Brogdon. "We played good initial defense and then had some type of breakdown for a layup. And I don't think we came out in the second half the right way. Came out and played a little sloppy."    

That sloppiness wasn't just at the beginning of the second half. Their lackadaisical approach on defense eventually made its way to the offense, as the Celtics got even sloppier when the ball was in their hands. Over the final two-and-a-half minutes, the Celtics hit just one of their seven shots and turned the ball over twice. Brogdon pretty much gave the game to Philadelphia when he panicked and made an ill-advised pass that ended up in the hands of a wide open Maxey, who coasted for an easy breakaway layup to give Philly a 114-113 edge with 28.2 seconds left. Tatum hit a pair of free throws to put the Celtics back on top, before Harden worked his magic to steal Game 1.

Whether it was Boston's inability to create some separation from Philly or Harden's game-winning three, this game felt a lot like Game 5 against the Hawks. Whatever the Celtics learned from that defeat, they forgot it by Monday night.

Just stealing one of the first two games in Boston would have been a big win for the 76ers; doing so without their MVP gives them a huge advantage going forward. As for the Celtics, they're talking about all that went wrong, and how they can learn from it. Again.

"I don't think there was a sense of urgency on the defensive end," Horford said after the loss. "We all have to look in the mirror with that and make sure that we're better for Game 2 on Wednesday."

Now it's up to the Celtics to actually take this lesson to heart. The series is far from over, and they have time to adjust to the punch they took on Monday night.   

The Celtics know what needs to change, but it's time for their actions to speak louder than their words.