A rivalry has officially been renewed! The Boston Celtics are all set to match up against one of their oldest rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers. Yeah, it kind of sucks Joel Embiid may miss the series because of his horribly-timed appendectomy - prayers up for a speedy recovery - but... hey, at least Nikola Vucevic gets to see his career come full circle!
You'd be hard-pressed to find many who know this off the top of their heads - it would be impressive if even Sixers fans remember this - but Vucevic started his career in the City of Brotherly Love. It was only for one season, as he was then included in the Dwight Howard deal, where he got to blossom with the Orlando Magic, but still, it's cool to see him face the team that drafted him in the postseason.
Oh, and if that's not where the circle becomes full. Vucevic was also on the Sixers team that pushed the Celtics to seven games in the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals during the tail end of the Big 3 era. Furthermore, his one playoff game as a Sixer was against the Celtics (a Game 3 Celtics blowout win!)!
The irony is that the Sixers-Magic play-in would have led to a full-circle moment for Vucevic anyway, given his history with Orlando, but since his career started in Philly, it's a fuller circle.
It also feels poetic that Vucevic is getting his first legit playoff minutes vs. Philly
With all due respect to Vucevic's previous teams, his place on the Celtics gives him his first shot at playing legitimate minutes for a title contender. None of his Orlando or Chicago teams went anywhere. In fact, the furthest Vucevic went in the playoffs was his lone year with Philadelphia, but it's fair to suggest that he wasn't much of a factor on that team.
Even if Vooch isn't the player he used to be, he's still good enough to be the backup big on a team with title-like aspirations. Back in 2012, he was a non-factor, but 14 years later, he is.
And he gets to show it for the team that he once came within inches of beating. He won't be the biggest factor as to whether the Celtics will prevail over the Sixers again - the last time Philadelphia beat Boston was 1982 - but if they do, it'll be cool to see the shoe be on the other foot for Vucevic, especially now that he'll actually be playing.
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