Basketball fans rejoice! The NBA is back tonight (October 18) as the 2022-23 season officially begins in Boston. The defending Eastern Conference champs, the Boston Celtics, will play host to one of the most controversial teams year in and year out, the Philadelphia 76ers. The matchup between the Eastern Conference foes will occur at 7:30pm ET on TNT.
The Celtics have had a rollercoaster offseason, as they started it off with a bang by acquiring former Virginia Cavaliers star Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers; however, the offseason took a big turn when head coach Ime Udoka was exposed to have been having an affair with a co-worker that led to him being suspended for the upcoming season. Filling in for Udoka on an interim basis will be former assistant coach Joe Mazzulla.
Malcolm Brogdon handing out DIMES! pic.twitter.com/2gIcu91zzG
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 2, 2022
As for Philadelphia, controversy and drama seem to always surround the franchise. They have become a team known for underachieving year in and year out. However, they made a significant acquisition this offseason by snatching away P.J. Tucker from their rivals, the Miami Heat, via free agency. A lot will be expected from Tucker not just on the court alongside Joel Embiid in the frontcourt but also in the locker room as a leader; as Tucker has been known for being a tremendous leader on and off the court throughout his career including being a great leader in his lone season in Miami.
Bringing in Tucker will also benefit “the bearded one” himself, James Harden. Harden and Tucker spent several seasons together as teammates with the Houston Rockets.
https://twitter.com/JClarkNBCS/status/1582459357387636736?s=20&t=bxuUaAih2WKzXlp5vcM7MQ
As for injury-related news for tonight’s contest, the Celtics will be without arguably the best shot blocker in the league, starting center Robert Williams, as he is currently recovering from a knee procedure that occurred a few weeks ago.
According to @ShamsCharania on #RunItBack this morning, #Celtics big man Robert Williams recently underwent a PRP procedure in his knee and could return in the second half of the season pic.twitter.com/rSb7EPsWP2
— FanDuel TV (@FanDuelTV) October 18, 2022
An essential key for success for each team this season will be in the coaching department, as you have a rookie head coach in Mazzulla for Boston and a very experienced coach in Doc Rivers for Philadelphia. Mazzulla should be given more patience and time as he was thrown into this just a short time ago; as for Rivers, he should be given a short lease as he has already underachieved throughout his short time in Philly, so this may very well be a make it or break it a season for Rivers as he faces potentially trying to find another job in the offseason if Philadelphia does not go far this season.
As for some predictions, we believe the Celtics will defeat the Sixers by a score of 109-101 in a relatively low-scoring affair as per recent seasons. For this to occur for Boston, it will be essential for Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart to fit in well together. However, the primary key for Boston to win will be the play of their superstar, Jayson Tatum.
We hope you all enjoy the game tonight; let us know what you think about the first official game of the new NBA season by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
Don’t forget: The Philadelphia 76ers will face the Boston Celtics TONIGHT, October 18th at TD Garden in Boston beginning at 7:30PM ET/4:30PM PT on TNT.
