The Philadelphia 76ers managed to steal away home-court advantage from the second-seeded Boston Celtics Monday night, as they pulled off a stunning Game 1 upset sans Joel Embiid. Paving the way to victory was former MVP and perennial All-Star James Harden, who finished off with a miraculous 45-point performance.

However, while his efforts on the night certainly played a part in Boston's ultimate demise, they were far from being the lone factor in the game's outcome.

In fact, throughout the contest, the Celtics seemed to consistently be sustaining self-inflicted wounds. From their poor shot-clock management to their failures to hold onto the ball, the club couldn't seem to make the right plays and decisions when it mattered most.

In the end, the Sixers came away with the 119-115 win as a result of essentially making fewer mistakes along the way.

Within Boston's midst there seemed to be three individuals, in particular, that one could argue as warranting the most blame for their loss during the round-two opener.

3) Joe Mazzulla

Overall, Joe Mazzulla's first season serving as head coach of the Boston Celtics has proven to be a great success, as he has helped guide the team to the second-best record in the association at 57-25 and was Team Giannis' headman during the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.

However, as was to be expected what with it being his first year running a full team in the association, he has certainly experienced some hardships along the way. Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals seemed to be chock full of said hardships, and, to his credit, he owned up to it after the final buzzer sounded.

During his postgame press conference, Joe Mazzulla noted that when it came to the turnover totals and game management aspect of Game 1, he believes, ultimately, the blame deserves to fall on him.

“I got to be better at play calling and getting us into our spacing quicker so it’s from that,” Joe Mazzulla said.

On the night, the Celtics committed 16 turnovers, resulting in 20 points scored, while the Sixers coughed up the ball just six times.

2) Derrick White

Since being inserted into the starting lineup for Boston's playoff run, Derrick White has been an absolute gem of a contributor. Through the six games leading into Monday night, the veteran was sporting phenomenal averages of 17.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.3 blocks per contest while shooting 55.7% from the field and 45.7% from deep.

Game 1, unfortunately, did not see this high-end production shine through.

Despite seeing 27 minutes of action and his seventh-consecutive postseason start, Derrick White was virtually missing in action when out on the floor against the 76ers.

Finishing with the game's second-worst plus-minus rating of -15, the combo guard boasted an incredibly mediocre stat line of 4 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal, and shot a lackluster 25 percent from the field while going 0-for-4 from distance.

Simply put, White looked completely out of synch during the semifinals opener and, when playing against a team like the Philadelphia 76ers, underwhelming production from a key contributor can easily come back to bite you.

Hopefully, for the C's sake, he can bounce back during Wednesday's Game 2.

1) Jaylen Brown

Seeing Jaylen Brown's name on this list may be a bit perplexing to see for some, but it's a well-warranted inclusion.

On the surface, the All-Star seemed to have quite a productive game against the Sixers, as he finished with an impressive stat line of 23 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal while shooting an incredibly efficient 80.0% from the field and 75.0% from deep.

However, the vast majority of this production came during the first half of action. During the last two periods, Jaylen Brown was seemingly nowhere to be found.

While his scoring efficiency remained just as high-end in the final half of action, as he shot 66.7% from the field and cashed in on his lone 3-point attempt, his drive and aggressiveness did not bleed into this part of the contest.

During the final 24 minutes of regulation, Jaylen Brown was on the floor for 22 of them. With the game going back and forth, the wing appeared to be reluctant to play his role as a top offensive focal point, as he attempted just three shots down the stretch.

Now, granted, a star allowing his teammates to “get theirs” is often considered to be an admirable thing. However, during this time on the night, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart were the only two Celtics players to register over seven points, with half of Smart's 12 coming by means of acrobatic, and-one finishes at the rim or, in other words, semi-lucky shots.

In order for this Celtics team to reach their full potential, both Tatum and Brown must be aggressive and assertive from start to finish. This was not the case in Game 1. Hopefully for Boston, Game 2 will be different.