76ers Open Season Of Championship Hopes Vs. Celtics Tuesday Night

PHILADELPHIA, PA — A year ago at this time, the Process was still Processing, and all the Sixers mania that burst forth last winter and spring was still simmering beneath the hardwood on South Broad.

The 76ers had finished the 2016-17 season as the fourth worst team in the NBA. Ben Simmons hadn't played a game. Joel Embiid was established as the real deal, but injury concerns were grave. An improvement seemed inevitable, but then again, there wasn't anywhere to go but up. A playoff birth, however, was more of a pipe dream.

Fast forward to this October, and all of the sudden, basketball as big in Philadelphia as it's been for 20 years. Not since Allen Iverson's prime has there been this kind of excitement and promise surrounding the team, following a dramatic turnaround that included a 52-30 record and 3rd place finish in the Eastern Conference last season.

The season opener Tuesday night could set the tone for the season. The Sixers will head up to Boston to face the Celtics, where their season ended in the Eastern Conference semifinals last April. At the time, that matchup seemed a harbinger of the dawn of a new rivalry. Both squads are young and contain what could be generational talent. And with Lebron James' exodus to the West, the Eastern Conference championship is as up for grabs as it's been for a decade.

Can the Sixers be the new kings in the East? Though the team did not make a major free agent signing, like Lebron, or trade, like Kawhi Leonard or Jimmy Butler (yet), they return all of the key pieces from last season's team, albeit a year older, a year more experienced, and, in the case of most players, a year closer to their primes.

Point guard and forward Simmons, the reigning Rookie of the Year and, according to some, Lebron's heir-apparent, is just 22. Embiid, nearly an MVP candidate last year and arguably the top big man in the league, is 24. And 2017 first overall draft pick, guard Markelle Fultz, who missed most of last year with a variety of issues but has earned a spot as a starter on opening night, is 20. It's not unreasonable to think all three will be better in 2018-19.

But it's Fultz who may command the most attention early on and who could be the most impactful. Should he display the star ability what the Sixers saw when the took him first overall, he would complete an awe-inspiring trio of young stars in Philadelphia.

Add to that threesome forwards Dario Saric (24) and Robert Covington, 28, who were huge parts of the Sixers success last year. Coming off the bench Tuesday, the team will also have re-signed veteran guard JJ Redick, backup guard T.J. McConnell, and backup center Amir Johnson.

Looking Forward

As far as the Eastern Conference goes, the Celtics look to be the Sixers main concern. Only the Toronto Raptors, who finished the 2017-18 regular season in first in the East, are considered to be at a similar level. Without Lebron, the defending East champion Cavaliers are unlikely to be competitive. While the Sixers doubtlessly dream of winning it all, it's not at all unrealistically to predict that they advance at least as far as the Eastern Conference finals next spring, where they'll have a change to get vengeance for last year against the Celtics.

In the West, the Golden State Warriors, the defending Finals champions, are huge favorites. The Houston Rockets were close last year, though, and the Los Angeles Lakers can't be counted out as they're led by Lebron.

The Sixers have the sixth best odds to win it all, at plus 1600, per Bovada.

How to Watch

Things get started at 8 p.m. up at TD Garden in Boston Tuesday night. The game is getting national broadcast coverage on TNT.

The Celtics are 5 point favorites opening on their home turf, according to a consensus of spreads over at OddsShark.

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images