Everything you need to know about 76ers-Celtics and Lakers-Warriors as the 2022-23 season tips off.
The NBA is back!
The 2022-23 season tips off with a doubleheader. First up, the Philadelphia 76ers take on the Boston Celtics in an early clash of Eastern Conference contenders. The Celtics are the defending conference champs, while the Sixers are looking to end a Finals drought that has lasted more than two decades.
Out West, the defending champion Golden State Warriors will receive their rings after winning their fourth title in the past eight seasons. Looking to spoil the celebration will be the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James, who begins the season needing 1,326 points to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s career scoring leader.
We’ll have complete coverage from Boston and San Francisco with highlights, takeaways and the moments that matter all night long.
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When we last saw the Celtics, they fell to the Warriors in the NBA Finals. However, that team was led by Ime Udoka, who has been suspended for the entire 2022-23 season. Tuesday’s opener against Philadelphia will mark the regular-season NBA coaching debut of Joe Mazzulla, the 34-year-old former assistant who has been with Boston for three seasons.
This will be the first opener as a Sixer for James Harden, who was acquired by Philadelphia at the trade deadline last season. He signed a new two-year contract this offseason, taking a pay cut from his player option to give the Sixers the cap space to add PJ Tucker, who won a title with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021 and helped the Miami Heat reach the conference finals last season.
Vonleh’s minutes speaks to Celtics’ situation
With Robert Williams III sidelined for the next few months, it’s going to take some creative work from the Celtics to navigate life without one of the best defensive big men in the NBA.
And, in the first five minutes of the 2022-23 NBA season, we have seen the Celtics begin to do just that.
