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Making the Case for Why the Sixers Can Give the Celtics a Series
By Sean Barnard
Published:
For the eighth time in the past nine seasons, postseason basketball will be played in Philadelphia. For the fourth time across this stretch, the Sixers will be facing off with the Boston Celtics.
You can point out that the Sixers are 0-3 in the postseason against their Eastern Conference rival across this era. You can even acknowledge that no Sixers team without Wilt Chamberlain or Julius Erving has ever defeated the Celtics in the playoffs, with the last series win by Philadelphia over Boston occurring in 1982. Or that this year’s iteration of the Celtics cruised to a 56-26 record this season, even while being without Jayson Tatum for the bulk of the season and actively cutting salary to duck the luxury tax in what was expected to be a gap year for the organization. Taking a look at the odds on New Jersey and Pennsylvania sports betting apps certainly does not lead you to believe the Sixers have any sort of chance.
But what is the point of sport without some form of illogical belief?
The Sixers officially punched their ticket with a 109-97 victory over the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament. They played with a level of grit and toughness that has not been commonplace across this era of Sixers basketball, and got impact performances from the X-factors they needed. Kelly Oubre Jr. set the tone with a pair of three-pointers in the first three minutes and got into a dust-up with Paolo Banchero. VJ Edgecombe once again proved to be unbothered by the weight of the moment. Paul George was disruptive defensively, Tyrese Maxey led the team with 31 points, and Andre Drummond had arguably the best game of his Sixers career, complete with a dagger three-pointer:
They will now look to carry this momentum into a seven-game series against a much better Celtics team.
What to Know About the Celtics
The Boston Celtics are really good. They are not quite at the level of clear-cut championship favorite that they’ve been in the past few seasons, but are far closer to it than seemed realistically possible coming into the year. Boston finished as the second seed in the Eastern Conference and won just five fewer games than last season despite Tatum playing in only 16 games.
Joe Mazzula made a clear case why he is one of the best coaches in the league, while Jaylen Brown had an admirable MVP case for himself. The Celtics play a slow style of basketball and are impressive on both sides of the ball. They launch three-pointers at an extremely high rate, ranking fourth in three-point attempts per game, and turn the ball over the fewest times per game in the league. Defensively, the Celtics have held teams to the fewest points per game and rank fourth in defensive rating.
These teams faced off four times during the regular season and split the matchups with two wins apiece. The first three matchups took place on October 22nd, October 31st, and November 11th, with plenty changing since. They most recently faced off on March 1st, which resulted in a 114-98 Celtics win. It’s worth noting that Joel Embiid played in the first two games, of which they went 1-1, and missed the second two.
The Latest With Joel Embiid
Speaking of Embiid, his status will be one of the bigger storylines to keep an eye on. The former MVP officially underwent his emergency appendicitis surgery on April 9th. He was six days removed from surgery during the play-in matchup. Embiid will be 10 days post-surgery by the opening game of this series and 15 days removed when the series returns to Philadelphia for Game 3.
The seven-time All-Star was present on the bench for the play-in victory, and Nick Nurse revealed he attended the team’s film session earlier in the day. There has not been any sort of update from the Sixers about his expected timeline. Embiid deserves more credit for rushing back from injury in the playoffs than he sometimes gets credit, but this is an issue that has to be viewed through a slightly different lens. This is not a broken face that he can wear a protective mask over or knee soreness where pain management is the biggest hurdle. Appendicitis falls more under the medical issue category than injury, and his availability will almost entirely be decided by the doctors.
Appendectomies are not very common in the NBA, so there is not a ton of data to dive into for past examples. According to online injury analyst Jeff Stotts, the average time lost for in-season surgery is 23 days with a median of 18. Despite some outright libel from washed-up hot take artists, there is no world where Embiid has been cleared yet. It frankly feels ambitious to expect to see him again this season, although it would be great to be wrong about this.
Sixers Pathway to Keeping Things Competitive
The saying goes that you live by the three and you die by the three, and no team embodies this as much as the Celtics. Philadelphia ranks 19th in opponents’ three-point attempts allowed and 10th in opponents’ three-point percentage. This is going to be a major part of the matchup in this series, and to some extent, the Sixers will need some poor shooting variance from the Celtics.
One area where the Sixers should have an advantage is in their tempo. The Celtics rank dead last in the league in pace and make a clear effort to make the most of every possession, space the floor, and lock down defensively. Tyrese Maxey has a legitimate case for the fastest player in the entire NBA, and Edgecombe has the young legs and athleticism to run with him. It was a clear priority by the Sixers to push the pace against the Magic, and this same game plan should be carried over against the Celtics. If this game is played in a half-court setting, the Sixers are going to struggle to create reliable offense. But the Celtics will struggle to keep pace with the dynamic Sixers’ backcourt if they can get out on the fast break at a regular rate. Boston’s lack of turnovers is impressive, but I would correlate this more to their slow pace of play and isolation-heavy offense. They rank 27th in assists, and you are going to limit your turnover opportunities in a major way when you aren’t putting the ball at risk.
Rebounding has been a major flaw of this Sixers team, dating back even to last year. Boston has outperformed the Sixers in this category, but their front court lineup of Nikola Vucevic, Neemias Queta, and Luka Garza does not strike the level of fear you would expect for a team of their caliber. Drummond was excellent against the Magic, and Bona had some impressive flashes. However, I would give some real thought to going small in this matchup in an effort to lean into a fast-paced identity. You have to be ready to pull the plug if Boston is having success creating additional possessions, but a five-man unit of Maxey/Edgecombe/George/Oubre/Barlow is as athletic a unit as the team can put out there. It’s also worth noting that Edgecombe led the team with 11 rebounds Wednesday night, and it will be a team effort to attack the glass all series.
It also feels like the return of Tatum has been brushed over a bit from the Celtics’ perspective. Across his 16 games played, he is averaging 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists but shooting a career-worst 41.1% from the floor and 32.9% on three-pointers. Tatum does seem like the rare star with the personality to not be overly disruptive, and the Celtics are 13-3 in games that he has played. But anyway you slice it, introducing a six-time All-Star to a team that won 43 games without him is not an easy task. Boston is still talked about like this is the same team that won the championship together two seasons ago, but the reality is three of the top six minutes leaders from last year’s roster are no longer sharing the floor with Tatum from this time a year ago.
Look, the bottom line is the Celtics are massive favorites for a reason, and the Sixers need quite a few breaks to go their direction to have a chance. But the Sixers entered this season with largely empty expectations following last year’s disaster. They’ve earned a playoff opportunity and provided some legitimate storylines for why the fan base should be excited.
This is not a series or postseason that should be viewed through a championship-or-bust lens. There is legitimate value in providing Edgecombe with his first taste of NBA playoff experience, and Maxey will benefit from being asked to be the lead guy against this caliber of team as he has evolved as a player since his last playoff appearance in 2024. In some ways, the context of how this season ends matters more than the results. If this team gets swept in four straight consecutive games where Maxey and Edgecombe look the part of an elite backcourt, that may change the way you approach this offseason. Neither have blinked at the moment, and there will be some long-term positive effects of this experience.
There will be some big-picture conversation when the season concludes about the future of this team. But, for the time being, dig back into the Celtics’ hatred, and allow yourself to believe at least a little bit.
Sean Barnard has covered the Philadelphia 76ers and general Philly Sports for over six years in a variety of roles and for multiple outlets. Currently works as a Content Writer for DraftKings Network, Sixers/NBA Insider for Philadelphia's Fox Sports the Gambler, and co-host of Sixers & Phillies Digest on Youtube. Forever Trusting the Process.