Sixers-Celtics final score: Five thoughts from Philly's 102-92 loss to the Celtics
Five quick observations from the Sixers' home-opening loss.
Saric's struggles: Dario is still cold from three-point range. He missed both of his threes in the opener against Washington and went 0-4 from three against Boston. But give Saric credit. He was great inside and played great defense for the most part. Even with the missed treys he finished with nine points and 10 rebounds. He needs to use his inside game to keep his confidence up.
Foul trouble: Whether it was the tightly (maybe too tightly) officiated game or just bad plays by the team, the Sixers were charged with 32 fouls. Foul trouble does more than limit players. The pace of the game changes when there are so many calls. The Sixers want to play fast but they can't do that when the ball is dead half the time.
Worth it: Shooting 4-7 from three and finishing the game with 19 points is exactly why the Sixers paid J.J. Redick $23 million dollars on a one-year deal.
Dirty job: T.J. McConnell is scrappy, he's energetic, and he'll get his hands dirty for the greater good. He sacrifices his body for the play, pushes the ball, fights for loose balls, and makes the good foul even when it means committing his fifth. The stats that mean the most from McConnell are not the ones that show up in the box score and that's perfectly fine.
Figuring it out: Markelle Fultz is not big enough and not yet strong enough to drive into traffic and shoot over the bigger guys in the paint. He was completely denied twice and wasn't able to draw enough contact for it to be worth it. None of this is news or surprising though. He's young and raw and he is quickly learning that he isn't in the Pac-12 anymore.