PHILADELPHIASloppy play in the regular season or the preseason, is usually going to bring about the same result - a loss.
This is a lesson the Boston Celtics unfortunately find themselves repeating after a turnover-prone performance that ended with a 107-75 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston (1-3) went into the game with Kevin Garnett sitting out and Paul Pierce's minutes slated to be limited.
Even with more Garnett, that still may not have been enough to mask the many mistakes made by the Celtics.
Doc Rivers likes the C's to keep their turnovers to 14 or less per game.
At the half, Philly had 14 points off of 14 Celtics turnovers which as it turned out, just happened to be equal to the halftime deficit (56-42) that the C's were facing. Boston had a similar turnover-filled first half in their first preseason game, a loss to Fenerbahce Ulker in Istanbul, Turkey last week.
In addition to the turnovers, Boston also had its share of problems defending Spencer Hawes.
Boston Celtics
Hawes came off the bench to score 13 of his 17 points in the first half, taking advantage of Philadelphia's dribble penetration that left him either open or wide open enough to where Darko Milicic, Jason Collins or Jared Sullinger could not rotate out quick enough to contest his shot.
Along with no Garnett, Boston was also planning to play Pierce in the first half only. He had seven points and four rebounds at the half, but he also committed four of the C's first-half turnovers. Pierce finished with a team-high 16 points.
In addition to Hawes off the bench, Philadelphia got solid all-around play from its starters who each had at least four points in the first half.
Boston cut into Philadelphia's double-digit lead in the third, but Philadelphia's ball-movement and Boston's inability to get defensive stops put the game away in the third which ended with the Celtics trailing 84-63 going into the fourth.
It didn't get any better for Boston in the fourth, with the Sixers continuing to capitalize on the Celtics' mistakes and shoddy defense which included an uncontested driving dunk down the middle of the lane by Nick Young that pushed the Sixers lead to 92-63.