Sixers-Celtics best and worst awards: Ben Simmons’ domination, Kemba Walker’s struggles, Josh Richardson smash-mouth defense
Richardson showed why the Sixers acquired him from the Miami Heat in July’s trade for Jimmy Butler.
Here is my look at some of the best and worst performances from the 76ers’ 107-93 season-opening victory over the Boston Celtics Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center:
Best performance: How could anyone not give this award to Ben Simmons? The Sixers point guard dominated most of the defenders the Celtics put on him. The 6-foot-10, 250-pounder finished with 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting to go with a game-high nine assists and eight rebounds. The All-Star didn’t take a shot from outside of the paint. But on this night, he didn’t need to.
Worst performance: I had to give this to Kemba Walker. The Celtics point guard had a tough time shooting the ball, missing 14 of his 18 attempts en route to scoring 12 points. He also had more turnovers (three) than assists (two). It’s hard to believe that Walker averaged 37 points against the Sixers last season as a Charlotte Hornet. He even had 60 points against them in a game last November.
Best defensive performance: This award goes to Josh Richardson. The Sixers shooting guard finished with two blocks and one steal while being the primary defender on Walker. While it’s just one game, Richardson is showing why the Sixers acquired him from the Miami Heat in July’s trade for Jimmy Butler.
Worst statistic: As bad as the Sixers three-point shooting (7-of-29) was, I had to give it the Celtics foul shooting. The Celtics missed 14 of their 34 foul shots to shoot 58.8 percent from the line.
Best statistic: This goes to Richardson grading out with a game-best plus-22.
Worst of the Worst: I had to give this to the Sixers first-quarter performance. They looked like a team with no identity in the first 12 minutes, shooting 38.1 percent overall and missing all seven of their three-pointers. They were in disarray as their vaunted starting lineup of Simmons, Richardson. Joel Embiid, Al Horford and Tobias Harris played like a group of great players in a pickup game.