While watching this game, I found myself often thinking, with slight variations, “it’s a good thing J.J. Redick is hitting all these tough shots because Philly’s halfcourt offense looks like poo”. His hot shooting was enough to propel his team to a big lead early on, but as he cooled off, so did their ability to put points on the scoreboard.
Eventually, he stopped scoring altogether, and that was it for Philly. The Celtics win again. Not his fault, really. It’s not his job to carry his team by making off-balance contested jumpers, to drag his teammates forward with his scoring. That’s Ben Simmons’ job, and he utterly failed to deliver. 1 point? That’s it? I never have to use the rare singular form of “points” when referring to the totals of star players, but I do tonight.
Luckily for the Sixers, there’s no way they can keep playing this bad. No one with a brain should be counting them out yet, but I really thought this was going to be easier for them.