Player grades: James Harden’s huge night not enough, Sixers fall to Celtics

BOSTON–The Philadelphia 76ers began a season filled with high expectations on Tuesday night on the road against the Boston Celtics looking to get off on the right foot. The C’s, who are the defending Eastern Conference champions, offered a tough test for the Sixers right off the bat.

After a slow start on the offensive end, Philadelphia was able to kick it into high gear, and they seemed to be in control, but the Celtics used their experience and their mettle to come away with a 126-117 win over Philadelphia. James Harden had himself a huge night going for 35 points and eight assists with eight rebounds and he knocked down five triples, but it wasn’t enough on this night.

Joel Embiid had 26 points and 15 rebounds, but he also had six turnovers, Tyrese Maxey had 21 points, and Tobias Harris added 18 points,

Here are the player grades following the loss on the road:

The Beard looked like The Beard to start this one. He was getting to the free-throw line as he was 8-for-8 from the line in the first quarter, he was knocking down tough triples, he was being crafty, and he didn’t have much issue getting to the basket either. Boston is one of the tougher defensive teams in the league so this was a good test for Harden and he passed with flying colors. He was phenomenal all night long and one has to wonder if this is a sign of things to come.

Give the Celtics credit. They really keyed in on Maxey and made his life tough on the offensive end. The young man out of Kentucky had a really tough time getting to the basket and he wasn’t able to find any real rhythm out there. As he enters his third season in the league, he will have to understand that his name will be highlighted in the scouting report. After a slow start, he adjusted and made an impact on offense, but he struggled on the defensive end.

When the Sixers were disorganized on the offensive end to begin the game, Harris saved them a bit on that end. He was able to get some early offense through hustle plays and that allowed Philadelphia to settle down a bit on that end of the floor. He was efficient with his offense and that open triple he’ll continue to get will be huge on this team.

The two-man game between Harden and Tucker was really effective. It’s clear that they have played together before and they know each other’s tendencies. Harden made a couple of absurd passes to Tucker in the corner, but he just wasn’t able to cash in on his 3-pointers. His screens to get shooters open is an underrated part of his game. He did so many times in this one. Nonetheless, they needed the hard-nosed veteran to hit the open triple in this one and he wasn’t able to.

The Celtics sent a swarm of defenders toward Embiid and made him uncomfortable from the get-go in this one. After a tough start where he couldn’t find anything easy to start the game, he was able to knock down a jumper in the second quarter and he was then able to get into a bit of a groove. The big bugaboo with him was turnovers as Boston was active on defense and they would convert them into points, but he made up for it with his overall play.

Melton’s defensive tenacity was on full display in his debut. He was getting into the chest of Jayson Tatum and making his life tough which in turn distorted Boston’s offense a bit. With that being said, Philadelphia could have used some more offense out of him.

The veteran got the first crack at being the backup to Embiid and he was energetic from the jump. He had a tough time getting anything to drop on the offensive end though as he was unable to make an impact. He also had a tough time switching in the pick-and-roll defense as Boston went at him on that end.

The energy and effort House Jr. continues to play with is going to be such a benefit to this team. The veteran out of Texas A&M had a tough time converting on his open looks to start the game, but his ability to give constant effort is what allowed him to contribute. He will have to start knocking down those open looks though.

In Niang’s initial stint, he missed his open triple and he committed a foul on the defensive end. In the second stint, he did make a nice dribble move to attack the close out and kick to open shooter for 3 so he does bring that versatility to the floor.

Thybulle was used only in a defensive situational role in this one as he would enter the game at the very end of quarters to ensure a stop. To his credit, the Celtics weren’t able to get a clean look with him out there.