PHILADELPHIA -- After months of anticipation, the 76ers opened up the 2019-20 NBA season against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night. On top of the regular rivalry between the Sixers and Celtics, the game held an added level of intrigue as it was the first game of a fresh season and both teams debuted new-look lineups. The Sixers swapped out Jimmy Butler and J.J. Redick for Al Horford and Josh Richardson over the offseason, while the Celtics replaced Horford and Kyrie Irving with Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter. 

Though the Celtics started strong, the Sixers ultimately proved superior as they pulled out a 107-93 win. While the Sixers benefited from a balanced offensive attack -- all five Sixers starters scored 15 points or more -- it was their defense that got the job done. Heading into the season, the Sixers made it clear that they plan to be a team that hangs its hat on the defensive end of the floor, and that was extremely evident on Wednesday night.

The Sixers held the Celtics to 36 percent shooting from the floor and 26 percent shooting from long distance, while also blocking seven shots, forcing 10 turnovers and generating 20 points off of those turnovers. There was the eye test too: the Sixers were active, committed, and on the same page on the defensive end. Their length and sheer size ultimately overwhelmed the Celtics, as they also dominated the battle of the boards, 62-41.

The Sixers' solid play on the defensive end of the floor helped to mask some expectedly clunky play on the offensive end (they turned the ball over 15 times), and what was a pretty abysmal night from long distance for Philadelphia; they connected on just 7 of 29 3-point attempts (24.1%). This will likely be a trend for the Sixers this season, especially early on as the team continues to find its rhythm on the offensive end.

"Had our defense not been our defense, we might have seen a different result," Sixers coach Brett Brown said after the game. "Our defense, in large, was what I had hoped… The offense needs to catch up to the defense. If you play hard and you stick to the simple rules, there is a high level of accountability early. If you have a team like I have with the length that they have, I would expect the defense to be quite good and our offense, maybe not so. If we can get the defense to hold the fort and incrementally improve, we just need to get our offense to catch up and get more rhythm and make more shots. I like that type of trending."

Perhaps the most significant sign for the Sixers was the fact that Celtics guard Kemba Walker was held to just 12 points on 4-for-18 from the field. Walker has shredded the Sixers time and again in the past, as the team has had issues containing small, dynamic guards of Walker's ilk. Just last November, Walker dropped a career high 60 points against the Sixers as a member of the Charlotte Hornets. Now though, in Richardson – and also rookie Matisse Thybulle – the Sixers think they finally have a solution to the guard-guarding problem that has plagued them in past.

"There were a few other people that had opportunities on Kemba Walker, but if you look at his stat line, you would attribute a lot of that to Josh [Richardson]," Brown said. "Even some of the offensive plays that he made, the defense is what stands out to us the most, and it's true for me too. He made some timely plays offensively and he just is that wirey and elusive type of player that, as I've been saying, makes him a significant part of the glue to the team."

The fact that the Sixers now have a player that they can comfortably sic on ball-dominant small guards is a big deal, as the team already has dominant paint protectors in Joel Embiid and Al Horford, and another player with All-Defensive team potential in Ben Simmons. Now, they lack an identifiable area of weakness on defense.

"I was trying to use my size advantage," Richardson said of his defense on Walker. "I'm a few inches taller than him so using my length. I know his shot, so I was just trying to get my hands around it, into his vision. I know it's never easy to shoot over that and he's one of the best players in the league, so you just got to try to make it tough on him."

And make it tough on him he did; tougher than anyone on the Sixers was able to make it on him in the past, at least, which is a promising sign for Philadelphia. While the Sixers are far from a finished product, after just a single game it's pretty clear that the defense has the potential to be special.