The Boston Celtics might’ve retained all of their key pieces from last season’s championship-winning roster, however, others in the Eastern Conference, too, got busy this offseason, including the Philadelphia 76ers.
Philadelphia signed eight-time All-Star Paul George to a four-year, $211 million contract in free agency and retained guard Tyrese Maxey on a five-year, $203 million extension. To further surround franchise star Joel Embiid with supplemental pieces, the 76ers also agreed to a one-year deal with Kyle Lowry and added 17-year veteran Eric Gordon on a veteran minimum contract — making Philadelphia’s front office (very) confident.
“We’re right there in the conversation with a very small number of teams — top three, top four, top two in the league, somewhere in there,” Sixers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey told 97.5 The Fanatic. “Obviously, you gotta give the Celtics their credit. They won the title. They’re an excellent team. They brought everybody back. They’re the target, but we don’t feel like we give up anything to them, and we’re gonna be coming to take the title away from them.”
While bold and confident, the reality is that Embiid, a seven-time All-Star and 2023 league MVP, hasn’t figured out the cheat code for defeating the Celtics in the postseason. In fact, Boston’s dangled the bragging rights of going 3-0 against Embiid in playoff series throughout the entirety of the 30-year-old’s career. Most recently in 2023, under then-head coach Doc Rivers, Philadelphia blew a 3-2 series lead over the Celtics in the semifinals after Jayson Tatum dropped a record-setting 51-point master class in Game 7. Nevertheless, even with (recent) history being heavily in favor of Boston, Embiid, too, spoke up against the reigning NBA Finals champions — albeit in a more petty manner than Morrey.
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“If I go 5-for-20, we get blown out,” Embiid said on the “Check Ball Show” — firing a direct shot toward Tatum.
Regardless, it’ll take more than dishing out verbal jabs and George’s 53-61 playoff record for the 76ers to overtake the Celtics in the East. Boston racked up a league-leading 64 wins in the regular season and without Kristaps Porzingis — the team’s third scoring option — for most of the postseason, the Celtics went 16-3 before seizing Banner 18. Boston wasn’t just the top dog in the East. The Celtics were, by far, the best team in the NBA from start to finish, dating back to when Boston ripped the conference’s No. 1 seed from the hands of Philadelphia on Nov. 14 and never surrendered it.
