Celtics vs. 76ers: Will Porzingis, Holiday Debut Against Sixers?

Will the Celtics' new additions Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday face the 76ers on Sunday?

When the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics meet for the first time since their Game 7 battle in the second round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, both teams will look different. The home team, however, made some major changes at the top of their roster.

The Celtics added not one but two new key players over the offseason. First, the Celtics engaged in a blockbuster trade to scoop up the Latvian “unicorn” Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards.

Then, last week, the Celtics took advantage of the fallout from the Damian Lillard sweepstakes by scooping up former Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday from the rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers.

The Sixers will get a crack at the new-look Celtics soon enough, but will they battle it out on Sunday for the preseason opener?

The Word From Boston

On Saturday, the Celtics had a practice, preparing for their battle at the TD Garden against the Sixers. When asked about the availability of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla confirmed to FanNation’s Inside the Celtics that the two players would be active for the game, along with everybody else.

Of course, being active doesn’t mean playing. It simply means that they are available to play if Boston decides it will go in the direction of rolling out all of their key players on Sunday night.

As for the players who will get the nod to get some run in from Boston, Mazzulla expects to “go light” on minutes for most of his players. Considering it’s the preseason, that doesn’t come as a surprise.

The 76ers and the Celtics had a lopsided run against each other in 2022-2023. When they opened up the regular season with a battle, the Celtics snagged a 126-117 win in the late October matchup. In the following two games, the Celtics made it three in a row through February.

It wasn’t until early April that the Sixers finally found a way to defeat Boston during the regular season. In a tight matchup in South Philly, the Sixers churned out a two-point victory before the two teams eventually met in the second round of the playoffs.

Once again, the Sixers couldn’t come out on top against Boston in the postseason. Although they teed up a potential series upset in Game 6, holding a 3-2 lead, the Celtics forced a Game 7 back to Boston. At that point, the Celtics didn’t look back, knocking the Sixers out with a blowout win.

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Sunday’s game will have more focus on the new guys and the rotational hopefuls rather than serving as a revenge game for the visitors, but that shouldn’t deflate the excitement of the circumstances.