It is far too early to make any kind of definitive statement about any team in the NBA, but the Boston Celtics highlighted much of what we already knew in an opening night dismantling of the Philadelphia 76ers.
While the Toronto Raptors have a great opportunity to come out of the East with the addition of Kawhi Leonard, there is little doubt that the Celtics and 76ers are the team that are built to last and dominate for years.
The difference is that the 76ers are still several steps behind the Celtics. An unprecedented run to close last season along with generational young talent has rightfully made everyone extremely high on the 76ers.
They have a duo in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons that is ready to dominate right now, with more young pieces that should be able to round them out into a balanced and deep team that does not need to rely solely on star power.
Right now, you can even make the argument that Simmons and Embiid are the most talented duo in the East. Unfortunately, that is just a small portion of how the Celtics and 76ers stack up this season.
Last year in the playoffs, we saw that the Celtics had the young talent to beat the 76ers. With both Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward hurt, the Celtics made it clear that their top end talent is not the reason they are better than the 76ers.
When you add on that top two, it is simply unfair to compare the collection of talent on the 76ers to that of the Celtics. The 76ers do not have the same depth with their top end talent, because Irving and Hayward are much more polished, with another established force in Al Horford to back them up.
With the youth, Simmons and Embiid have a bigger impact that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown right now. Keep in mind, however, they have never been given enough responsibility, they are collectively younger and there is little to no pressure on them.
The 76ers simply do not have the secondary options that can even compare with the secondary options on the Celtics. Last season, that young talent on the Celtics made it clear they can do damage in the playoffs. That young talent alone was too much for the 76ers to handle, and expecting them to also account for Irving and Hayward without any significant offseason additions is just foolish at this point.
The talent depth of the Celtics starting rotation is enough to overwhelm an exciting and young 76ers team, and it gets even worse when you get to the bench.
Keep in mind, Tatum was the only player who really excelled in a dominant performance for the Celtics. You can make the case Embiid and Simmons were the most prominent players on the court on either team, but that was no where near enough and they were effective.
The Celtics have a bench that truly puts the 76ers bench to shame. They have established players that would e starting on the majority of teams, with the kind of chemistry and continuity that will put even more pressure on a 76ers starting unit that is already not enough.
There is no doubt the 76ers are the future of the East, but they still are just the future. They are good enough to go on a playoff run in the East right now, but it is still too early in the development of their rebuild to be at the same stage as the Celtics.
Keep in mind, the Celtics have put together draft picks, free agents and trades, and received elite talent in all those efforts. The 76ers still need to find more ways to add talent to their team, and that will make sure Simmons and Embiid are enough to start overwhelming any potential opponent.
For now, however, the 76ers are clearly playing catch up and it might be time to start tempering expectations when it comes to how they would compete in a playoff series.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
