Some losses feel thoroughly stupid, and this Celtics defeat by the Sixers was like that. In this case it’s not because one player blew it, or one boneheaded play or lineup decision doomed the contest to failure. It wasn’t even some kind of all-around, team-wide screwup. (The squad’s offensive cohesion was flummoxed by the lack of rhythm in the fourth quarter, but as we’ll see, that wasn’t exactly their fault.)
Let’s get this autopsy started:
1. The officiating.
Boston made a handful of legit dumb fouls in the first half. This is empirically true.