Jayson Tatum was a significant absence for the Celtics. He was a late scratch due to illness, and Boston's lack of a genuine creator was felt throughout the night. Rather than their fluid ball and player movement,

A slow start from the Boston Celtics in their Christmas Day game against the Philadelphia 76ers left the Boston Celtics fighting an uphill battle and eventually consigned them to their eighth loss of the season.

As a dangerous January schedule looms, Boston hasn't been playing up to its standard recently, falling 4 games out of first in the East.

A lackluster defensive effort caused the Celtics to come up short. The post Tyrese Maxey torches Celtics’ defense as 76ers beat Celtics on Christmas: 9 takeaways appeared first on Boston.com.