Celtics vs 76ers

The NBA is back as the Boston Celtics open up the 2022-23 season against the Philadelphia 76ers. Tuesday night's game will air on TV via TNT.

[Sling](https://www.sling.com/) [WatchTNT](https://www.tntdrama.com/watchtnt) [Boston Celtics](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/) open up the 2022-23 season against the [Philadelphia 76ers](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/jayson-tatum-eager-for-celtics-opener-against-76ers-its-like-the-first-day-of-school.html). But now the team will look to prove that last year’s NBA Finals run is no fluke as [Jayson Tatum](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/why-jayson-tatums-ejection-bothered-celtics-star-in-montreal-preseason-game.html), [Jaylen Brown](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/jaylen-brown-explains-why-celtics-are-picking-up-where-they-left-off.html), [Marcus Smart](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/celtics-injury-report-marcus-smart-malcolm-brogdon-fine-after-slight-scares.html) and the rest of a highly rated Celtics team return to the court. On the other side, the 76ers will be looking to move forward with their new core of [Joel Embiid](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/04/joel-embiid-injury-sixers-big-man-out-indefinitely-after-suffering-orbital-fracture-mild-concussion-report.html) and [James Harden](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/07/why-james-harden-deal-with-sixers-matters-for-celtics-contending-chances-in-the-present-and-future.html). Philadelphia went 6-10 in Atlantic Division play and 27-14 on the road last season. The game will air on TV via TNT. Tuesday night’s game will also feature ceremonies [honoring late Celtics legend Bill Russell](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/10/what-jayson-tatum-celtics-said-about-honoring-bill-russell-on-opening-night.html), who died on July 31. [Ime Udoka](https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/09/ime-udoka-faces-celtics-suspension-for-improper-consensual-relations-with-staffer-report.html) suspended for the season and a number of wild offseason changes. Fans can watch the game for free by signing up for a trial of [DirecTV](https://www.directv.com/stream/). What TV channel will it air on? 76ers game](https://www.directv.com/stream/)

Robert Williams III will miss this game as he recovers from an off season procedure to clean out the knee that he had surgery on before the playoffs last season ...

Home Game - This is the first home game of the season and hopefully the Celtics will get a boost and extra motivation from the crowd. The team that plays harder and is more aggressive is usually the team that comes out on top. It takes effort to get rebounds and the Celtics must go all out in their effort to beat the Sixers to rebounds. Move the Ball - The Celtics play best when the ball keeps moving and doesn’t stick with one player. The Celtics allowed 17 offensive rebounds per game in the preseason and they have to solve that as they won’t win many games allowing teams to grab that many offensive rebounds. Take Care of the Ball - Last season, one of the Celtics biggest problems was turning the ball over too much. The Celtics must match or exceed the Sixers effort and intensity on defense. He shot 41.0% from the field and 33.0% from beyond the arc. Marcus Smart needs to force Harden to play off the ball and guard him for the pass as well as the shot. Robert Williams III will miss this game as he recovers from an off season procedure to clean out the knee that he had surgery on before the playoffs last season. I listed the starting lineup that the Celtics used in the preseason but they may make a change for this game. They are hoping that Sam Hauser can take a leap in his development and add more scoring off the bench.

The Celtics looked like a team with a purpose in Tuesday night's season-opening win against the rival Sixers. We share our takeaways from a dominant ...

With him and Brogdon, the Celtics bench is in great hands. Jaylen Brown put on a show for the home crowd with 35 points of his own on 14-of-24 shooting, making him and Tatum a combined 27-for-44 (61.3%) from the field. The Brogdon also provided a glimpse of his playmaking ability with four assists on the night and added two steals for good measure. He didn't let off the gas the rest of the way. The Celtics shot 56.1% from the floor in the win and tallied 24 fastbreak points to the Sixers' two.

For Boston, it was the usual suspects who led the way. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both had 35 points in the contest, and Tatum also added 12 rebounds and ...

Some of that is on Embiid to do a better job of establishing himself in the post, but some of it is scheme-related. Philadelphia needs to do a better job of helping the big man establish himself down low early and often. On the block is where he has his biggest advantage, and he just puts so much sheer pressure on the defense from that position. In addition to defending in transition better, the Sixers also need to be more aggressive about generating their own offense on the break. One thing that they can do to help themselves is to take better care of the basketball. He provided the team with an additional threat on the offensive end, and an additional player capable of creating his own offense. If there's one thing in particular that the Sixers can point to as the reason they came out on the wrong side of this one, their transition defense would be it. Brogdon, the 2017 Rookie of the Year, made his debut for the team on Tuesday night, and it went very well. Brogdon came off of the bench for Boston, but he played 24 minutes -- fourth most on the team. [most encouraging aspect](https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1582562984693579778) of the evening for the Sixers. Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart also added 14 points and seven assists for the Celtics. However, they still entered the new season facing plenty of questions after suspending their coach for a year and replacing him with a guy with no previous experience at the NBA level over the offseason.

The Sporting News tracked live scoring updates and highlights from 76ers vs. Celtics on Tuesday. Catch up on the action right here.

4:30 p.m. - Time: 7:30 p.m. Celtics will tip off around 7:30 p.m. The game will be played at the TD Garden in Boston. For games on NBA TV, subscribe to Sling Orange & Sports Extra for $46/month. Viewers can also stream the game on Watch TNT or Sling TV. Celtics will air on TNT. Harden sinks all three freebies to cut into the deficit. For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown has a team-high 18 points on 7-of-14 shooting. James Harden drains the technical free throw to bring his total to 23 points on the night. An and-one opportunity from Grant Williams puts the Celtics up 114-102 with 6:35 remaining in regulation. Led by interim head coach Joe Mazzulla, Boston played off of the momentum of its home crowd en route to a 126-117 victory over the 76ers.

Jayson Tatum has confidence-booster game, James Harden shows lethal touch and 76ers' new faces have rough debuts.

None of the three were major factors in the loss to the Celtics. A fair number of players who played at the same level of Griffin wouldn’t stick around for this. They’ll need to be at their best when the Sixers are matched against the East powers. It’s an inconvenience at best, and a big loss at worst, for Boston as the Celtics make do until then. But Horford is 36 and the Celtics are rather thin at the power positions. It made for an interesting test case against Embiid, who led the league in scoring last season and, for the second time, was runner-up in the Kia MVP voting. He reset over the summer, reduced weight, signed a team-friendly contract extension that allowed the Sixers to add other players and came to camp feeling determined. Also, he was guarded Tuesday by Marcus Smart, the reigning Kia Defensive Player of the Year. He arrived in midseason from Brooklyn and the initial expectations were just too steep and maybe unrealistic. By the way, Brown and Tatum have each had 30-plus points in the same regular season game 13 times in their careers together. Tatum had some terrific transitional moments against Philly where he made defensive stops and followed up with jumpers and layups, especially in the game-changing third quarter when the balance flipped to Boston. Last we saw Tatum, he was tossing bricks in the 2022 NBA Finals and coming up short in performance and energy against the Warriors.