\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTwo years ago, the Boston Celtics were about to begin a playoff run that would end with them raising a record 18th NBA championship.Video above: Headlines from WGAL News 8.Two years later, Jayson Tatum, one of the centerpieces of that team, enters the postseason with a much different perspective.\u201cI think more of a sense of gratitude than ever,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cNot that I took it for granted. But when something is taken away from you, it just means a little bit more.\u201dIt was 48 weeks ago that the Celtics\u2019 title defense was upended after Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of Boston\u2019s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks.It\u2019s been a little over a month since the six-time All-Star\u2019s return to the court after just shy of 10 months of rehabilitation. That, coupled with an overachieving Celtics team that earned a No. 2 seed playing in all but 16 games without the star, have again put Boston into championship contention.That quest begins Sunday against a Philadelphia 76ers team that will open the series without big man Joel Embiid, who is still recuperating following an appendectomy on April 9.\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to take it one day at a time, don\u2019t take anything for granted and just come out ready to go every single night,\u201d said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, whose career efforts in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.1) have carried the team in Tatum\u2019s absence.Tatum said the nine-year partnership he\u2019s had alongside Brown is the reason he\u2019s enjoyed so much success so far during his career.\u201cNobody\u2019s successful by themselves,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cIt takes a group, it takes a village and a lot of this is like, where you were drafted. The teammates you\u2019ve gone to war with. So I\u2019m thankful, tenfold, for that. … Getting injured just kind of made me cherish each moment.”The 76ers are also in a mode of reflection heading into the postseason.Tyrese Maxey called Kyle Lowry last May and made a promise to the veteran guard who is expected to retire at the end of the season.Yes, the Sixers were coming off a 24-win season, but Maxey vowed the Sixers would return to the playoffs.After beating Orlando in the play-in game, the Sixers are indeed back, in large part because of Maxey. Maxey was voted an All-Star starter for the first time this season and carried the Sixers in large stretches with Embiid sidelined by various injuries and Paul George out with injuries and a 25-game suspension for flunking a drug test.Maxey had to reflect after that Orlando win on that phone call.\u201cI said there\u2019s no chance that I\u2019m going to not be in the playoffs next year,\u201d Maxey said.Maxey, who became the Sixers\u2019 career 3-point leader this season,- was the third option behind Embiid and James Harden the last time the Sixers and Celtics met in the playoffs in 2023.The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.\u201cThe mentality is definitely different,\u201d Maxey said. \u201cI mean, back then I was still attacking and still being aggressive but it\u2019s a different situation. For me, it\u2019s going to be a lot of film the next couple of days. A lot of film, breaking it down, get back in the gym probably Friday, a lot of getting to my spots and where I like to make shots and where I can get to. And then just read the game.\u201dV.J. Edgecombe is ready for his first NBA playoff game at the site of his impressive league debut.The Sixers rookie had a wildly successful first season after the Sixers made him the No. 3 overall pick in the draft out of Baylor.Edgecombe scored 34 points in his first pro game on opening night in Boston.Allen Iverson held the Sixers\u2019 record with 30 points in his debut in 1996.Edgecombe\u2019s 14 first-quarter points were also the most ever for a player\u2019s first NBA quarter. That record had been held by LeBron James, who scored 12 in 2003.Edgecombe finished the season with an average of 16.0 points in 75 games.Edgecombe dunked on \u2014 and got in the face of \u2014 Jalen Suggs for a 73-62 lead in the play-in game. Edgecombe was whistled for taunting and officials had to separate the teams.Sixers fans went wild, just as they have all season for Edgecombe.\u201cI love Philly fans, man,\u201d Edgecombe said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be so honest, man, it was loud. The intensity, the physicality, it was great. That\u2019s the type of game I live for. Physical, the crowd\u2019s involved. I couldn\u2019t ask for a better, like, debut-kind of playoff experience, kind of. It was great. I enjoyed every moment of it.\u201d\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tBOSTON \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Two years ago, the Boston Celtics were about to begin a playoff run that would end with them raising a record 18th NBA championship.<\/p>\n
Video above: Headlines from WGAL News 8.<\/p>\n
Two years later, Jayson Tatum, one of the centerpieces of that team, enters the postseason with a much different perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think more of a sense of gratitude than ever,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cNot that I took it for granted. But when something is taken away from you, it just means a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was 48 weeks ago that the Celtics\u2019 title defense was upended after Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of Boston\u2019s Eastern Conference semifinal loss to the New York Knicks.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a little over a month since the six-time All-Star\u2019s return to the court after just shy of 10 months of rehabilitation. That, coupled with an overachieving Celtics team that earned a No. 2 seed playing in all but 16 games without the star, have again put Boston into championship contention.<\/p>\n
That quest begins Sunday against a Philadelphia 76ers team that will open the series without big man Joel Embiid, who is still recuperating following an appendectomy on April 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to take it one day at a time, don\u2019t take anything for granted and just come out ready to go every single night,\u201d said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, whose career efforts in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.1) have carried the team in Tatum\u2019s absence.<\/p>\n
Tatum said the nine-year partnership he\u2019s had alongside Brown is the reason he\u2019s enjoyed so much success so far during his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody\u2019s successful by themselves,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cIt takes a group, it takes a village and a lot of this is like, where you were drafted. The teammates you\u2019ve gone to war with. So I\u2019m thankful, tenfold, for that. … Getting injured just kind of made me cherish each moment.”<\/p>\n
The 76ers are also in a mode of reflection heading into the postseason.<\/p>\n
Tyrese Maxey called Kyle Lowry last May and made a promise to the veteran guard who is expected to retire at the end of the season.<\/p>\n
Yes, the Sixers were coming off a 24-win season, but Maxey vowed the Sixers would return to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
After beating Orlando in the play-in game, the Sixers are indeed back, in large part because of Maxey. Maxey was voted an All-Star starter for the first time this season and carried the Sixers in large stretches with Embiid sidelined by various injuries and Paul George out with injuries and a 25-game suspension for flunking a drug test.<\/p>\n
Maxey had to reflect after that Orlando win on that phone call.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said there\u2019s no chance that I\u2019m going to not be in the playoffs next year,\u201d Maxey said.<\/p>\n
Maxey, who became the Sixers\u2019 career 3-point leader this season,- was the third option behind Embiid and James Harden the last time the Sixers and Celtics met in the playoffs in 2023.<\/p>\n
The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinals series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mentality is definitely different,\u201d Maxey said. \u201cI mean, back then I was still attacking and still being aggressive but it\u2019s a different situation. For me, it\u2019s going to be a lot of film the next couple of days. A lot of film, breaking it down, get back in the gym probably Friday, a lot of getting to my spots and where I like to make shots and where I can get to. And then just read the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
V.J. Edgecombe is ready for his first NBA playoff game at the site of his impressive league debut.<\/p>\n
The Sixers rookie had a wildly successful first season after the Sixers made him the No. 3 overall pick in the draft out of Baylor.<\/p>\n
Edgecombe scored 34 points in his first pro game on opening night in Boston.<\/p>\n
Allen Iverson held the Sixers\u2019 record with 30 points in his debut in 1996.<\/p>\n
Edgecombe\u2019s 14 first-quarter points were also the most ever for a player\u2019s first NBA quarter. That record had been held by LeBron James, who scored 12 in 2003.<\/p>\n
Edgecombe finished the season with an average of 16.0 points in 75 games.<\/p>\n
Edgecombe dunked on \u2014 and got in the face of \u2014 Jalen Suggs for a 73-62 lead in the play-in game. Edgecombe was whistled for taunting and officials had to separate the teams.<\/p>\n
Sixers fans went wild, just as they have all season for Edgecombe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Philly fans, man,\u201d Edgecombe said. \u201cI\u2019m going to be so honest, man, it was loud. The intensity, the physicality, it was great. That\u2019s the type of game I live for. Physical, the crowd\u2019s involved. I couldn\u2019t ask for a better, like, debut-kind of playoff experience, kind of. It was great. I enjoyed every moment of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two years ago, the Boston Celtics were about to begin a playoff run that would end with them…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":697768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3769],"tags":[679,7,45,46,777,2775,1270,3451,6,678,207,3817,1065,1004],"class_list":{"0":"post-713988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-76ers","8":"tag-76ers","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-boston","11":"tag-celtics","12":"tag-conference","13":"tag-eastern","14":"tag-first","15":"tag-matchup","16":"tag-nba","17":"tag-philadelphia","18":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","19":"tag-philadelphia76ers","20":"tag-playoff","21":"tag-round"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116431997092199422","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}