Thanks to some pretty stiff competition in the Eastern conference of the NBA, the 2018 NBA Playoffs is now being treated to a rekindling of the 80s Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics rivalry.
That’s right, these teams are going head to head in the second round of the NBA Eastern conference playoff matchup.
2018 NBA Playoffs Revisits Sixers and Celtics 80s Rivalry
“There have been three particularly hot periods of strife between the franchises. The 1950s era when the Syracuse Nationals led by Dolph Schayes tangled with the Celtics seven times in nine seasons (1953-1961),” according to NBA.
“Then there was the late 1960s when the Wilt Chamberlain-led 76ers took on Boston five consecutive years (1965-1969). And then there’s the 1980s where Philly and Boston battled four times in six seasons from 1980 to 1985, all of them in the Eastern Conference Finals.”
The Sixers, while pretty stacked with young players, seem to have an old school type of play, that is, if you don’t count all of the threes that are shot during the game. In the first round, they proved that they weren’t going to take trash from anyone. The first round against the Miami Heat featured plenty of scuffles and near fisticuffs.
Meanwhile, Boston has had their fair share of entanglements. Like the Sixers this team is young and just as hungry to bring home another championship. They have been faced with adversity losing two top players in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, but continue to battle on.
80s sports fans can see a rivalry revisited this year in the playoffs. To learn more about the 80s rivalry and to keep up with the second round of the NBA Playoffs, click here.
