Sixers vs. Boston Celtics takeaways: Philly’s not quite a title contender; Joel Embiid still needs help

The 76ers are an elite team, just not quite NBA championship ready.

Lack of depth will be a major concern in the postseason. And similar to the past, the Sixers will have to rely heavily on Joel Embiid.

Those three things stood out in Saturday night’s 110-107 loss to the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center.

Embiid’s biggest takeaway from this three-point loss is the Sixers are right there with Boston. To a casual fan that appears right, considering the Sixers would have forced overtime had Embiid’s desperation three-pointer after the buzzer counted.

But this loss came on a night when Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum was pedestrian before draining the game-winning three-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.

Boston was down early and even trailed by 15 points with 8 minutes, 21 seconds left in the third quarter. But it weathered the storm by getting contributions all around. Quite honestly, the Celtics (44-17) played at a C level for them. However, Boston kept making timely baskets.

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On this night, Matisse Thybulle’s presence was clearly missed. It became evident early that the Sixers no longer have anyone capable of slowing down Boston’s perimeter players after shipping Thybulle to the Portland Trail Blazers in the Feb. 9 four-team trade.

One would also think the Sixers would have made adjustment since facing Boston on Feb. 8. Back then, Blake Griffin hit five wide-open three-pointers against them. This time, it was former Sixer Al Horford who drained five mostly wide-open threes As a team, Boston is averaging 16 three-pointers in three victories this season against the Sixers.

But when the Celtics needed stops, they got them Saturday night.

The Sixers look good against solid teams. But the Celtics know how to defend. This game was more indictative of what it’s going to be like come playoff time. And that happens every season to the Sixers.

Meanwhile, Embiid had to finish with 41 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks just to keep the Sixers competitive with a Celtics squad having an off night.

“Obviously, a great team,” said Embiid, whose squad dropped to 0-3 against Boston this season. “Like I said last time we played them, they’re extremely deep. Anybody can have it going on any given night, especially if you know they’re best player [Tatum] isn’t playing well. They have a lot of guys that can pick it up. Then for us, we are right there.

“Being up 15, I thought we were all not ready to play basketball. And we just got to be better. All of us.”

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The Celtics led, 27-12, in bench points, and that doesn’t show how wide the scoring disparity was. Tyrese Maxey scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter. Before that, Boston had a 22-6 advantage.

During that time, Maxey shot 1-for-4 from the field. He made 3 of 6 shots in the final quarter. But for the game, the third-year guard was a minus-11.

But that was much better than Jalen McDaniels and Georges Niang. McDaniels had four points on 2-for-4 shooting, but was minus-23 in 14:50. Meanwhile, Niang was minus-22 in 12:41. He also failed to score after missing his three shots.

Paul Reed had two turnovers, zero points, and was minus-14 in 4:24. And Shake Milton, who also failed to score, was minus-4 in 1:48.

Niang looked like someone that’s unplayable in the postseason. The same for Milton and Reed.

“Clearly, we need to be better,” said Niang, who kept being attacked while playing defense. “That’s not acceptable. That’s on us as a second unit. We need to be better and hold down the fort. Whether it’s make shots, take better shots, play better defense. That’s on us.”

The Sixers have little variety in their playing style. It’s Embiid or bust.

As a result, they need to figure out ways to keep other players involved.

Tobias Harris was hot early, scoring 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting in the first quarter. However, the Sixers went away from him afterward. He scored seven points on 3-for-5 shooting over the final three quarters.

Harden scored 21 points and had eight assists, but made just 5 of 16 shots. He also gave up a lot of easy buckets, defensively. The Celtics felt like they could manufacture buckets, and they did so easily.

Meanwhile, the Sixers had to get tough buckets. Embiid hit big shots over defenders. That showed how good the MVP candidate is, but he needed help.

The Sixers coaching staff needs to find a way to keep Harris involved through four quarters. It also needs to run the offense through Maxey more when he’s in the game.

» READ MORE: It’s about fit more than talent in Sixers’ starting lineup, and that’s OK ... for now

The Sixers will need his energy and scoring off the bench in the postseason. So they must put him and Harris in better positions to help Embiid.

They’re not going to be able to beat good teams in seven-game playoff series, counting on Embiid to score 50 points every time.

Best performance: This goes to Derrick White on a night Jaylen Brown finished with a team-high 26 points. White had 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting to go with one block.

Worst performance: I had to give this to Niang. The Sixers reserve power forward failed to score for the sixth time this season.

Best defensive performance: This goes to Embiid for recording three blocks.

Worst statistics: This goes to the Sixers third-quarter three-point shooting. They made just 1 of 7 three-pointers for 14.3%.

Best statistics: This goes to the Embiid’s foul shooting. He made 17 of 18 free throws.

Worst of the Worst: This goes to the Sixers blowing a 15-point lead in the third quarter.