It’s official. The Boston Celtics will welcome the Philadelphia 76ers to town for the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Philadelphia picked up a 109-97 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night in the 7-8 Play-In game, led by Tyrese Maxey‘s 31 points.
The Celtics and 76ers played four times during the regular season: Three times by November 11 and once on March 1. That means Philadelphia hasn’t had the chance to get a look at this version of Boston with Jayson Tatum back in the lineup.
(Obviously, the away games on this schedule will be played in Philadelphia.)
Meanwhile, the Sixers are down one superstar. Joel Embiid recently underwent an appendectomy, and no return timetable has been announced.
Maxey will be enough of a headache for Boston to deal with. In four games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 30.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 41.8% from the floor and a red-hot 51.4% from deep range on 8.8 3-point attempts per contest.
Rookie VJ Edgecombe was also a problem for Boston at times this season, highlighted by a 34-point game in his career debut on Opening Night.
Boston went just 2-2 against Philadelphia this year, though their latest matchup was a dominant 114-98 blowout win (again, before Tatum’s return).
The Celtics will undoubtedly be favored in the series, but of all the potential first-round matchups, Maxey’s presence alone makes this a tough series. He’s talented enough to win a game or two on his own, and Boston’s puzzle will be slowing him down.
Alongside the challenge of Maxey will be Philadelphia’s transition game as a whole. He and Edgecombe love to run, and the Celtics have been susceptible to that this season.
Game 1 will be at TD Garden on Sunday, April 19, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Film breakdown coming soon.
