Philadelphia 76ers: 5 reasons to be excited for 2018-19 NBA season

By Simon Smith | Sep 29, 2018

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 24: The Philadelphia 76ers celebrate the series win after the game against the Miami Heat in Game Five of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

1. Resumption of their rivalry with the Boston Celtics

While they came up short in their second round playoff series against the Boston Celtics, there’s a good chance this won’t be the last time the Sixers and Celtics meet in the postseason in the years to come.

Having won 55 games last season before ultimately falling in the Eastern Conference finals to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics return this season even stronger than the team the Sixers encountered.

With a duo of All-Stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning to full health, the Celtics on paper appear the team to beat in the East, especially with the departure of LeBron James to the Western Conference.

Agreed. It didn't feel like it for most of this series but the reality is that Celtics-Sixers is a rivalry renewed. https://t.co/y9M7MqoSUW
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) May 10, 2018

As coach Brown noted immediately after the Sixers were eliminated by the Celtics:

"“If we’re going to do anything of significance, it’s always going to have to go through the Boston Celtics.”"

The most exciting of this rivalry is the timeline of many of the key performers involved.

For the Sixers, Fultz is just 20, Simmons is 22, Embiid is 24 and Dario Saric is 24. For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum is only 20, Jaylen Brown is 21, Marcus Smart is 24, while Kyrie Irving incredibly is still just 26.

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With this batch of exciting young players, combined with the historical rivalry between the franchises, this episode of the Sixers-Celtics could prove to be one of the most fascinating stories of the 2018-19 season.