Philly and Boston Set to Explode Off the Break—Who Will Dominate the Early Clash?

76ers vs Celtics, 1:00 ET

We had a full day of hoops happen yesterday as the first half of the NBA playoff series took place. I’ve already stressed how much I love Playoff basketball, but it really doesn’t get better than this. In this series, we have two passionate fan bases coming head-to-head as the 76ers take on the Celtics.

The 76ers got here by winning the Play-In Game. They were probably the best-looking team in the Play-In series as they won at home and by double digits. There is still reason to be concerned about Philadelphia, though. There are a number of questions about Joel Embiid and his availability after an appendectomy. With a healthy Embiid, it seems like the 76ers would have a major advantage, as the worst position the Celtics have is the Center spot. Nikola Vucevic was repeatedly tormented by Embiid when he was with the Bulls. However, we don’t really know what shape he will be in if he plays. The team will need Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to be extremely aggressive and efficient in order to have hope in this series. I don’t find the 76ers to be overly deep, but in the playoffs, as benches get shorter, they could at least put up a fight.