Sixers - Celtics Game One: Top 20 Takeaways

20) Boston really started this game with a lot of behind the back passes; not surprisingly, they also started this game behind

19) The difference in this game was that Andre Iguodala was the best player on the floor in the first half, but not the second

18) Paul Pierce has to stop the Sixers' top scorer in this series, which means Paul Pierce is going to spend much of this series in a state of confusion

17) After matching up with the Chicago bigs for six games, Thaddeus Young looks like he's been freed from jail... at least, he did until he got freaking hurt

16) Ryan Hollins showed his Cleveland release pedigree by missing an alley opp and hurting himself

15) Watching Ray Allen work against the Sixer guards is like watching an old cobra devouring baby mongooses

14) Lavoy Allen hasn't watched enough NBA basketball to know that he's not supposed to be able to hang with the Celtics

13) The second quarter run to end the half more or less confirmed to everyone watching that the Celtics were going to wake up and win

12) Three times in this game, a Celtic got hurt during the play, but the Sixers never took advantage

11) Some part of Paul Pierce's struggles can actually be attributed to good defense, not that this ever occurs to anyone watching

10) You have to be impressed by Boston's ability to play the loudest subsonic drums in the NBA during opposing possessions

9) In the time it took you to read this, Greg Stiemsma committed another foul

8) I'm still not prepared to live in a world where Spencer Hawes is an acceptable starting center

7) Had the Sixers made some freaking free throws, or had any in the fourth quarter, this might have ended differently

6) Both teams missed a lot of open looks in the fourth quarter, which is kind of what you expect when the schedule stays compacted

5) Philly was the better team for the vast majority of the game, which of course means nothing

4) Hawes with a steal and transition layup after a half dozen second shots was nine kinds of insane

3) Rajon Rondo got a triple double in a game where he really didn't play very well, which says something about the Boston bigs

2) Doug Collins went small at the end of the game, which meant the Sixers got no offensive rebounds and watched Lou Williams end his team's chances to win

1) Unfortunately for the Sixers, the Celtics do not employ CJ Watson at point guard, so they didn't gag up this game in crunch time