Sixers focused on starting a victorious NBA season, with Boston rivals an afterthought; Matisse Thybulle to become restricted FA

Don’t tell the 76ers Tuesday night’s season-opener against the Boston Celtics is a rivalry game.

In what will be the first NBA game of the season, the two Atlantic Division foes will meet for the 460th time. It’s a series that has historically featured head-to-head battles between Wilt Chamberlain versus Bill Russell and Julius Erving versus Larry Bird.

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In recent seasons, there have been near-tussles between Joel Embiid and the Celtics. And this season’s games should be interesting as both teams are expected to contend for the Eastern Conference title.

Doc Rivers, in his third season as Sixers coach, has been on both sides of the rivalry. He led the Celtics to the 2008 NBA title.

But ...

“I don’t know yet,” Rivers said when asked what does this rivalry means to him. “Obviously, you want to win on both sides of it. Any team that’s local or close, what I call the Knicks, Celtics, anybody in your division, you want to beat. So that’s important.

“But it’s Game 1 of 82 and we’re more focused on winning the game, and not thinking much about the rivalry.”

Tuesday night’s game will be nationally televised on TNT and marks the first of two Bill Russell Tribute Nights. Russell, a Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA champion, passed away on July 31.

Boston will unveil their special Bill Russell tribute 2022-23 City Edition uniform in the season opener. In addition, players around the league are honoring the life and legacy of Russell by wearing a commemorative patch on the right shoulder of their jerseys. Every NBA court displays a clover-shaped logo with the No. 6 on the sideline near the scorer’s table. And the No. 6 jersey has been retired through the league.

So the Sixers, especially Massachusetts native Georges Niang, know the atmosphere inside T.D. Garden will be electric. The reserve power forward purchased a lot of tickets for family members and friends.

Asked about being apart of the rivalry, Niang said, “I like who likes me. The Sixers like me. So that’s an easy choice.”

But he noted similarities to the cities. Both are blue-collar sports towns, so it’s been easy for him to adapt to Philly.

» READ MORE: Sixers enter 2022-23 NBA season with high expectations, but several daunting questions linger

“I used to be a Celtics fan,” he said. “But now that we are playing each other that stopped a long time ago.”

Regardless of the opponent, the Sixers are just happy to finally start playing meaningful games.

They reported to their practice facility in Camden for voluntary scrimmages in September. Then they headed to Charleston for training camp on Sept. 26. After a week in South Carolina, they participated in four exhibition games.

“If you had to go up against P.J. Tucker and box him out every day, you’d be anxious to go up against someone else. Let me tell you,” Niang said. “The ice bath has been a really good friend of mine going up against him.”

“So I think we’re all excited to play against someone else,” Niang said. “We’ve seen the same faces since we went down to Charleston.”

Fourth-year guard Matisse Thybulle did not reach a deal for a rookie-scale extension before Monday’s 6 p.m. deadline, a league source confirms. As a result, Thybulle will become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the season. As a restricted free agent, he can sign an offer sheet with any team. However, the Sixers can retain him by matching the terms of that offer.

Thybulle was eligible to receive a maximum extension of five years and $188 million.