Is PJ Tucker Out for Revenge vs. Celtics?
Before he joined the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2022 NBA offseason, veteran forward PJ Tucker was a member of the Miami Heat.
Following a championship run with the Milwaukee Bucks in 2021, Tucker looked to pick up another ring by inking a short-term deal with another Eastern Conference contender, the Heat.
Everything was going according to plan for Tucker last season. As the Heat finished the year 53-29, they locked in the East’s first seed. After beating the Atlanta Hawks in four of five games during the first round, Tucker and the Heat faced the Sixers in round two.
Miami defeated the Sixers in six games. For the second-straight season, Tucker appeared in the Eastern Conference Finals. Unlike the previous year, though, Tucker’s season ended there.
The Heat and the Celtics needed seven games to settle the series. On the road, the Celtics managed to pick up a 100-96 victory to advance to the 2022 NBA Finals, putting an end to the Heat’s playoff run.
Now, Tucker is set to face the Celtics for the first time since last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. Except for this time, Tucker isn’t donning a Heat uniform. After inking a three-year deal with the Sixers during the offseason, Tucker will tip off the season against the team that knocked him out of the postseason last year.
The 76ers-Celtics rivalry is already alive and well, but is there a little added juice to Tuesday’s opener for Tucker?
“It’s a new season, man,” said Tucker. “New season, new team.” Would the veteran feel differently if he was still a part of the Heat organization? Surprisingly not.
“Even if I was on Miami, it still wouldn’t be like a revenge type of thing,” he continued.
The Sixers made it clear they won’t read too much into the overall results of the first of 82 games to figure out how they measure up against the conference’s top teams. Instead, the first set of games will allow the Sixers to figure out where they need to improve as a team.
“Like I say, more progress every year, get better as a team and figure out how I can make somebody else better on my team, and how can we progress to be able to be a playoff team,” Tucker finished. “It’s gonna be exciting — it’s good for the fans. I think it’s a lot of good games early on and gets the fans into it.”
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for All76ers, a Sports Illustrated channel. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_.
