Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics, 10/08/23 | NBA.com

Back like they never left…

The 2023-24 Philadelphia 76ers will get their first competitive run of the new season Sunday, facing the Celtics in Boston.

The preseason opener comes on the heels of the team’s journey to Fort Collins, Colorado for its first training camp under Head Coach Nick Nurse.

Guided by one of Nurse’s mantras for the team, “Expect to win,” the group embarked on a week of high-altitude, and higher-intensity, practices.

How would newcomer Kelly Oubre Jr. describe a training camp under Nurse? Simple:

“Efficient, productive, and we got better,” Oubre said Friday prior to the team’s departure. “I had fun.”

Thirteen-year NBA veteran Tobias Harris feels the same way.

“It’s been amazing,” Harris said Wednesday. “I think you can ask everybody in here, and they would answer the same. It’s fun, high-energy, and everyone is gradually figuring out their spots on the floor.”

It’s been a competitive week, too.

“We’re battling out there,” Harris added. “It’s been exciting, fast-paced, a lot of trash-talking going on… The energy has been great. There’s an excitement in the gym.”

“We’ve got some guys that, when it’s time to compete, they compete,” fourth-year Sixer Tyrese Maxey said Tuesday. “They’re not afraid to get physical. They’re not afraid to tell you about it. There was a lot of super high competitive nature going on.”

The group brought that competitiveness from Fort Collins to Boston, where the team gathered for its final practice before its preseason debut.

“We got a lot of game-like situations in today,” Nurse said Saturday. “They were revved up. The ‘compete’ level is super high. You’ve got to love it. I saw a lot of good things today.”

Sunday’s matchup tips at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Rookie Terquavion Smith loved running with his new teammates in Saturday’s scrimmage:

“It was great. Very competitive. It’s always good to play with high-level guys. This being my first year, it was my first time being able to scrimmage with NBA players… The energy was good from the beginning of practice. It was great.”

Following Sunday’s contest, preseason continues with a rematch versus Boston on Oct. 11 in Philadelphia. Then, the Sixers will travel to Brooklyn to visit the Nets on Oct. 16, and close their preseason slate hosting the Atlanta Hawks on Oct. 20.