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

Three up, three to go.

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

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

The Sixers conclude their three-game road trip on Monday by taking on the Hawks in Atlanta. Here are observations about their massive defeat in Boston:

Celtics with huge lead over youthful Sixers

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

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

The matchup wasn’t close. Celtics center Luke Kornet scored eleven points in the first six minutes and Boston took a 40–18 lead on a three-pointer by Derrick White just before the buzzer in the first quarter. The Celtics had massive advantages almost everywhere you looked: 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 as a team from three-point range. Two-way contract player Lester Quinones finally broke the ice late in the first quarter.

McCain’s play in the arc

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

The 20-year-old shot just 2 for 8 from the floor in the first period, though both of his performances were impressive. He converted a smart layup around Kornet and made a tricky left-handed scoop shot.

Especially on a team with three All-Stars in Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Joel Embiid, McCain could very well do much of his scoring behind the three-point line early in his NBA career. Still, it seems worth continuing to work on finding pockets of space on his drives and tightening up his play about 6 to 40 feet from the edge.

As a 6-foot-1 rookie, he finds the balance between being an offensive, creative player inside the arc and adapting to the challenges of NBA size and athleticism. He hasn’t lacked confidence this preseason; McCain went right at an All-Defensive guard in White and scored an and-one layup on him. He also narrowly missed a big dunk in the fourth quarter.

McCain assisted Yabusele on back-to-back threes in the second quarter. He has shown an innate feel for using his body in the pick-and-roll and hitting teammates in rhythm with pops and rolls.

The Duke product’s three-point numbers dipped a bit with a 1-of-8 performance. Through three practice matches he scored 7 out of 20 on the long distance.

Outside the arc, there is nothing for Martin to do yet

Martin’s athletic skills came to the fore whenever he had the opportunity to go downhill.

He scored the Sixers’ first points on a pick-and-roll with Dowtin. Later, he 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. He attempted just one three-point shot Saturday night, missing a first-quarter jumper from the right corner.

If he could knock down a few threes before the preseason ends, Martin’s case for rotation minutes would likely improve. While the Sixers want everyone to play to their strengths, Nurse has spoken positively about Martin’s summer work with a shooting coach. Any success in the game during preseason would be significant.