The Philadelphia 76ers travel to Beantown to play the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Tuesday.

It's strange to say that a season opener may be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals, but most people expect both of these teams to go deep into the postseason. Not only did both teams finish top-three in the east last year, both of these franchises are on the uptick. These are brilliant young cores mixed with a perfect blend of veterans and it's a treat for NBA fans to see them square off in the opener.

The Sixers growing pains were on display for the whole sports world across the last decade but the "trust the process" mantra has officially come to fruition. The fact that Philly never cracked a .500 record for the last 12 years made last season's success even more fruitful, as they posted a 52-win season en route to the three-seed in the east. That's their third-best mark since 1985, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league considering this team is still up-and-growing. With a young core of Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, the Sixers have built themselves a franchise through the draft. The development of Fultz may be the biggest factor for this team, as he has the talent to take the Sixers to the next level. He's already been announced as the starter and it will be fascinating to see all of these number-one picks playing together for a whole season.

The Celtics may be the only other team in the league who have developed themselves better than the Sixers, as they've set themselves up for success for years to come. The depth is what truly makes this team dynamite, as they have a bench that could be a starting five for a handful of teams. Players like Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier saw major growth last season, as they were asked to step in for a couple injured stars. Those studs are fully healthy coming into this season though, with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward both fully recovered from their leg injuries. That's insane considering the Celtics were just one game away from reaching the Finals last season, as this is truly a team where the sky is the limit. Getting all of these pieces on the same page is the only question mark with this bunch, but a mad scientist like Coach Brad Stevens should have no problem with having too much on his plate.

Despite the fact that Philly won their most recent regular season game against Boston, the Celtics prevailed in 14 of their previous 15 meetings.