WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid are about to find out what the NBA playoffs are really about.
After dispatching the Miami Heat in five games in the first round in their first career postseason appearance, the Philadelphia 76ers’ youngsters will open the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night in Boston against the Celtics.
All those banners hanging from the Garden rafters.
All that history on the parquet floor.
All that bad blood between the two cities.
A civic rivalry that dates back to the Revolutionary War era came of age on the basketball court with Wilt Chamberlain leading the Philadelphia Warriors, and later the 76ers, against Bill Russell’s Celtics in the 1960s.