Things didn’t go super smoothly for Philadelphia 76ers star rookie V.J. Edgecombe in his postseason debut in Game 1 against the Boston Celtics.
If given the opportunity, Edgecombe probably would have drawn things up differently – both individually and from a team perspective.
76ers Were Blasted by Boston Celtics in V.J. Edgecombe’s Playoff Debut
The 76ers were thoroughly outplayed by Boston from basically the opening tip of the contest. The Celtics outscored the Sixers by 15 points in the opening frame, and it was never competitive after that.
When all was said and done, the Celtics walked away with a 123-91 victory over the listless Sixers to claim a 1-0 lead in the series, which will be extremely short if the Sixers don’t offer more resistance than they did in the first game. For Boston, the victory was the largest playoff-opening win in franchise history.
No one on the Sixers played particularly well in the embarrassing loss, and that includes Edgecombe. In 34 minutes, the rookie tallied just 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He struggled mightily from the field as he connected on just six of his 16 attempts from the field. He missed all five of his attempts from beyond the arc.
The game will obviously serve as a learning experience for Edgecombe, who shared his biggest takeaway from his debut with reporters after the game.
“I mean, my takeaway is they got to win three more,” Edgecombe said. “It’s on to the next game. My takeaway is that just we gotta be ready to match their intensity. Make it feel more of a playoff game than the game today.”
This is the right approach for the rookie to have. As a whole, the team has to flush this game and move forward. Learn from it, yes, but they simply can’t afford to dwell on the poor performance as they’ll be right back in action in Boston again on Tuesday night.
76ers Will Look to Bounce Back Against Boston in Game 2 on Tuesday Night
If the Sixers are going to have any chance of bouncing back in Game 2, they’re going to have to be more effective from long range – both offensively and defensively. Philadelphia made just four of its 23 attempts from long range in Game 1. That’s 17 percent.
Meanwhile, the Celtics knocked down 16 shots from long range. That’s a 36-point advantage that the Celtics had over the Sixers in the first game, which is basically an insurmountable advantage.
Moving forward, the Sixers will have to do a better job of taking advantage of their own long-range opportunities while also limiting Boston’s open looks from 3-point range. Additionally, the Sixers will have to do a better job of generating turnovers while limiting their own. Philadelphia turned the ball over 14 times in Game 1, compared to just eight for Boston.
Edgecombe will need to be better moving forward for Philadelphia, especially as Joel Embiid’s status for the series against Boston remains uncertain. But, he’s been a quick learner thus far in his professional career and there’s no reason to expect that to change.
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