– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BOSTON — The iteration of the Boston Celtics that walked onto the court on Sunday was not supposed to perform on this stage until 2027. A number of those same players weren’t looked upon as integral parts of a possible championship run, at least in the immediate future.
But through grit, determination, great coaching and a quick-healing Achilles tendon, the Boston Celtics unit that took the floor, favorites to win the Eastern Conference to start their playoff journey, left no doubt that the “sky is falling” doom that was supposed to cast over the franchise just a year ago is now just the start of a conversation about the sky being the limit.
All five starters scored in double figures for the Celtics, led by Jaylen Brown’s 26 points, as the Celtics never trailed during their 123-91 demolition of the Philadelphia 76ers during Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs first round series inside TD Garden. Boston held a double-digit lead for the final 37 minutes in the latest installment of the most-played playoff matchup in NBA history.
Just less than a year ago, watching a playoff game featuring Jayson Tatum elicited physical and emotional torment, with the All-Star forward going down with an Achilles tendon tear against the New York Knicks, all but signaling the end of the Celtics’ defense of their 2024 title and, supposedly, and hope to compete once again in 2026.
Almost looking to make a statement that he and the Celtics are well and truly back to their peak powers, Tatum played all 12 minutes in the first quarter of his first game back in the postseason, posting a 10-7-4 stat line on his way to finishing with 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s Game 1, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 37 pictures in total.
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