Celtics vs 76ers

The 76ers play their first regular season game on Tuesday night Oct. 18 in Boston, facing the Celtics in the NBA season opener.

Malcolm Brogdon (19.1 PPG) was traded from Indiana to Boston in July, and the Celtics also signed Danilo Gallinari (11.7 PPG). Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown averaged 26.9 and 23.6 points per game, respectively, for the Celtics last season. Gallinari is out, however, as the Celtics announced early last month that the 15-year veteran was diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee suffered while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup qualifier against Georgia on Aug. Robert Williams (left knee arthroscopy) is also out. Joe Mazzulla, 34, is the Interim Head Coach. - In the preseason finale on Oct. 22, the Celtics announced a season-long suspension for Head Coach Ime Udoka due to violations of team policies. “I think he got mad in our last preseason game. - Tyrese Maxey was the team’s leading scorer. “But it's going to be so much better when you get to the end and you have a chance to really win it. "It's going to be tough, and we're going to go through a lot throughout the season,” said Tucker. “This season's going to be all about us, as a group, as an organization.

The NBA is back as the Boston Celtics open up the 2022-23 season against the Philadelphia 76ers. Tuesday night's game will air on TV via TNT.

[Sling](https://www.sling.com/) [WatchTNT](https://www.tntdrama.com/watchtnt) [Boston Celtics](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/) open up the 2022-23 season against the [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/jayson-tatum-eager-for-celtics-opener-against-76ers-its-like-the-first-day-of-school.html). But now the team will look to prove that last year’s NBA Finals run is no fluke as [Jayson Tatum](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/why-jayson-tatums-ejection-bothered-celtics-star-in-montreal-preseason-game.html), [Jaylen Brown](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/jaylen-brown-explains-why-celtics-are-picking-up-where-they-left-off.html), [Marcus Smart](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/celtics-injury-report-marcus-smart-malcolm-brogdon-fine-after-slight-scares.html) and the rest of a highly rated Celtics team return to the court. On the other side, the 76ers will be looking to move forward with their new core of [Joel Embiid](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/04/joel-embiid-injury-sixers-big-man-out-indefinitely-after-suffering-orbital-fracture-mild-concussion-report.html) and [James Harden](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/07/why-james-harden-deal-with-sixers-matters-for-celtics-contending-chances-in-the-present-and-future.html). Philadelphia went 6-10 in Atlantic Division play and 27-14 on the road last season. The game will air on TV via TNT. Tuesday night’s game will also feature ceremonies [honoring late Celtics legend Bill Russell](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/what-jayson-tatum-celtics-said-about-honoring-bill-russell-on-opening-night.html), who died on July 31. [Ime Udoka](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/09/ime-udoka-faces-celtics-suspension-for-improper-consensual-relations-with-staffer-report.html) suspended for the season and a number of wild offseason changes. Fans can watch the game for free by signing up for a trial of [DirecTV](https://www.directv.com/stream/). What TV channel will it air on? 76ers game](https://www.directv.com/stream/)

Robert Williams III will miss this game as he recovers from an off season procedure to clean out the knee that he had surgery on before the playoffs last season ...

Home Game - This is the first home game of the season and hopefully the Celtics will get a boost and extra motivation from the crowd. The team that plays harder and is more aggressive is usually the team that comes out on top. It takes effort to get rebounds and the Celtics must go all out in their effort to beat the Sixers to rebounds. Move the Ball - The Celtics play best when the ball keeps moving and doesn’t stick with one player. The Celtics allowed 17 offensive rebounds per game in the preseason and they have to solve that as they won’t win many games allowing teams to grab that many offensive rebounds. Take Care of the Ball - Last season, one of the Celtics biggest problems was turning the ball over too much. The Celtics must match or exceed the Sixers effort and intensity on defense. He shot 41.0% from the field and 33.0% from beyond the arc. Marcus Smart needs to force Harden to play off the ball and guard him for the pass as well as the shot. Robert Williams III will miss this game as he recovers from an off season procedure to clean out the knee that he had surgery on before the playoffs last season. I listed the starting lineup that the Celtics used in the preseason but they may make a change for this game. They are hoping that Sam Hauser can take a leap in his development and add more scoring off the bench.

Although preseason doesn't count for anything, the Sixers were happy to go unbeaten in matchups against the Hornets, Cavaliers, and the Nets. Now, they are ...

The Celtics will look to begin defending their conference title on Tuesday. After the Sixers fell short to the Last season, the Sixers and the Celtics split their regular season series. Both teams split a game in Philadelphia to end the regular season series 2-2. From summer workouts in Los Angeles to a week-long training camp in Charleston, the Sixers have done all they could to build optimal chemistry before the games begin. Throughout the summer, the Sixers have prepared a ton for their 2022-2023 run.

Former Miami Heat veteran PJ Tucker will face the Celtics while playing with the Sixers on Tuesday.

Instead, the first set of games will allow the Sixers to figure out where they need to improve as a team. “It’s gonna be exciting — it’s good for the fans. “New season, new team.” Would the veteran feel differently if he was still a part of the Heat organization? The Heat and the Celtics needed seven games to settle the series. For the second-straight season, Tucker appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals. As the Heat finished the year 53-29, they locked in the East’s first seed.

The Celtics looked like a team with a purpose in Tuesday night's season-opening win against the rival Sixers. We share our takeaways from a dominant ...

With him and Brogdon, the Celtics bench is in great hands. Jaylen Brown put on a show for the home crowd with 35 points of his own on 14-of-24 shooting, making him and Tatum a combined 27-for-44 (61.3%) from the field. The Brogdon also provided a glimpse of his playmaking ability with four assists on the night and added two steals for good measure. He didn't let off the gas the rest of the way. The Celtics shot 56.1% from the floor in the win and tallied 24 fastbreak points to the Sixers' two.

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics squared off against Joel Embiid and the 76ers to open the season on Tuesday in a contest between contenders.

It’s like we’re in a relationship, and we’re all on the same page and trying to accomplish the same thing. They made it a point to play fast throughout the preseason, and they reaped the rewards against a Sixers team that isn’t always known for its ability to get back. And in the light of Bill Russell, here on our home floor, it was special.” His presence makes the Celtics’ second unit incredibly dangerous, and lineups with Brogdon, Tatum, and Brown have the potential to be explosive. If there’s a complaint to be had about Tuesday’s game, it’s that the Celtics — predictably, given their personnel — struggled on the defensive glass against the enormous Sixers star, but Vonleh is best known for his ability to gobble up rebounds on both ends, and he was very playable in the final two quarters. The Celtics even limited James Harden a little better in the second half, and the lead ballooned to double digits. But the fact that I was the only one that got I guess something out of that is kind of beyond me. The Celtics defended Joel Embiid the way they usually defend him — with a big and plenty of help defense to throw him off balance. Tatum did not play for the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, and the Celtics still built their lead before he checked back in for the rest of the period. “And then I’m the only one who gets a tech. But the Celtics solidified in the paint, and the Sixers didn’t really seem to adjust much. “We both are extremely competitive, both are trying to get better, trying to make our franchise better, trying to make our teammates better as we’re all chasing a championship,” Brown told reporters after the game.

James Harden got off to an encouraging start, but Joel Embiid and the Sixers' defense looked a step behind as the Celtics cruised to an opening night win.

They were simply trading baskets down 10 by this point, unable to make a serious dent in the lead. The Sixers had their hands full with both Jays, as Jaylen Brown finished with 35 points of his own. They weren’t able to get much of anything going on the offensive end. - The second quarter had a completely different tone from the first, as both offenses came alive. Boston did a good job of knowing when to send double teams at him and making he sure he wasn’t catching the ball near the basket. The audio on the TNT feed was ahead of the game action, which was jarring.

The Philadelphia 76ers battled it out against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

A tight battle continued in the second quarter. [James Harden](https://www.si.com/search?query=James+Harden) led the charge as he checked in for the entire first quarter. The Sixers got off to a slow start. Meanwhile, the Celtics made a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they defeated the Heat to advance to the final stage of the postseason. By the end of the regular season, Philadelphia entered the playoffs as the fourth seed. Last season, the Sixers and the Celtics split their season series with two wins and two losses each.

Jayson Tatum has confidence-booster game, James Harden shows lethal touch and 76ers' new faces have rough debuts.

None of the three were major factors in the loss to the Celtics. A fair number of players who played at the same level of Griffin wouldn’t stick around for this. They’ll need to be at their best when the Sixers are matched against the East powers. It’s an inconvenience at best, and a big loss at worst, for Boston as the Celtics make do until then. But Horford is 36 and the Celtics are rather thin at the power positions. It made for an interesting test case against Embiid, who led the league in scoring last season and, for the second time, was runner-up in the Kia MVP voting. He reset over the summer, reduced weight, signed a team-friendly contract extension that allowed the Sixers to add other players and came to camp feeling determined. Also, he was guarded Tuesday by Marcus Smart, the reigning Kia Defensive Player of the Year. He arrived in midseason from Brooklyn and the initial expectations were just too steep and maybe unrealistic. By the way, Brown and Tatum have each had 30-plus points in the same regular season game 13 times in their careers together. Tatum had some terrific transitional moments against Philly where he made defensive stops and followed up with jumpers and layups, especially in the game-changing third quarter when the balance flipped to Boston. Last we saw Tatum, he was tossing bricks in the 2022 NBA Finals and coming up short in performance and energy against the Warriors.