The stars seemed to have finally begun aligning for the Philadelphia 76ers, that is, until their biggest nemesis decided to turn them into collateral victims with an unbelievable trade that revived their chances once more.
Just a day after the season officially closed, the Boston Celtics struck another blockbuster trade, sending two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for Anfernee Simons and two second-round picks. ESPN’s Shams Charania first broke the news.
This move was largely motivated by Boston’s urgent need for cap and luxury tax relief, but in doing so, their front office devised a masterful way to reach another goal — that of remaining very competitive next season, much to the detriment of Eastern Conference hopefuls like the 76ers.
Celtics irk the 76ers anew with stellar blockbuster trade
Given Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury, the league-wide belief is that the Celtics will lie low next season as a second-rate playoff team in the East, But with Simons now on board, they just added another player who can help fill the scoring void left by the All-Star.
The 76ers, which were previously staring at a wide-open Eastern Conference — and is probably still true all things considered —now face even stiffer competition from a Celtics team that has had their number for quite some time now. Boston has won six of their last seven outings against Philadelphia.
A healthy Joel Embiid-led 76ers team next season should have ample opportunity for a huge comeback, perhaps even a historic one, but given this development, there is an argument to be made that the Celtics can still potentially vie for homecourt advantage in the playoffs, at least in the first-round. After all, Boston still has one of the most intimidating collection of talents in the entire association.
Philly should still feel good about its chances against Boston in a potential series, but health will be the biggest factor for them. After all, even in the recently concluded season where they finished with the fifth-worst record in the league, the 76ers actually turned in a signature win against Boston on Christmas Day on the road.
With their biggest rival landing the first punch, the Philadelphia 76ers should now be more motivated than ever to mount an assault of their own. The franchise has been kept in suspense (or really, sheer disappointment) for a lot of years now, and it cannot afford to let its biggest nemesis make a laughingstock out of them.