3 observations after McCain scores 20 points, the young Sixers lose in a landslide in the preseason

3 observations after McCain scores 20 points, young Sixers lose by preseason landslide originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Three down, three left.

The Sixers reached the halfway point of their preseason schedule with a 139-89 loss to the Celtics at TD Garden on Saturday night, falling to 1-2 in the exhibition game.

Jared McCain was the Sixers’ top producer, scoring 20 points on 9-for-21 shooting, three assists, three rebounds and three steals.

The Sixers will finish their three-game road trip on Monday with a game against the Hawks in Atlanta. Here are observations on their stunning loss in Boston:

Celtics with a massive lead over the young Sixers

Sixers head coach Nick Nurse took a sensible, conservative approach on the second night of the preseason, giving most of his veteran players off to play.

That meant Guerschon Yabusele started at center against his former team and opened the night alongside Jeff Dowtin Jr., McCain, Ricky Council IV and KJ Martin.

The match wasn’t even close to even. Celtics center Luke Kornet scored 11 points in the first six minutes and Boston took a 40-18 lead on a three-pointer from Derrick White just before the first quarter buzzer. The Celtics had huge advantages almost everywhere – size, experience, All-Star talent. In less than 16 minutes, Boston’s lead was 26 points.

It didn’t help that the Sixers missed several wide-open jumpers and started 0-for-9 from three-point range as a team. Near the end of the first quarter, two-way contract player Lester Quinones finally broke the ice.

McCain’s play inside the arc

McCain grabbed a strong defensive rebound in the first quarter and then sprinted forward for a coast-to-coast layup. Jaylen Brown’s chase down block attempt forced him to miss.

The 20-year-old shot just 2-for-8 from the floor in the first period, although both shots were impressive. He converted a nifty layup around Kornet and made a tricky left-handed shot.

Especially on a team with three All-Stars in Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Joel Embiid, McCain could score a majority of his points from behind the three-point line early in his NBA career. Still, it seems worth continuing to work on finding space on his drives and refining his game from about 6 to 12 feet from the rim.

As a 6-foot-3 rookie, he finds the balance between being an attacking, creative player on the court and adapting to the size and athleticism challenges of the NBA. He hasn’t lacked confidence this preseason; McCain went straight to an all-defensive guard in white and scored a layup for a 1-0 advantage. He also narrowly missed a big dunk in the fourth quarter.

McCain assisted Yabusele on consecutive three-pointers in the second quarter. He has shown an innate ability to use his body in the pick-and-roll and beat his teammates in rhythm on pops and rolls.

The Duke product’s preseason three-pointers dipped slightly, with a 1-for-8 mark. He is 7 for 20 from distance in three friendlies.

Nothing happens for Martin outside of the story arc

Martin’s athletic ability increased every time he had the chance to go downhill.

He scored the Sixers’ first points on a pick-and-roll with Dowtin. He later hit home a fast-break lob from Council.

Martin played 28 minutes and scored nine points on 4-for-7 shooting, four rebounds and two assists. On Saturday night, he attempted just one three-point shot and missed a jump shot from the right corner in the first quarter.

If he could fire a few more threes before the end of the preseason, Martin’s case for rotation minutes would probably improve. While the Sixers want everyone to play to their strengths, Nurse spoke positively about Martin’s summer working with a shooting coach. Any in-game success during the preseason would be significant.