Boston Celtics
It is Celtics-76ers as soon as once more within the playoffs. Get to know Philadelphia forward of Sunday’s matchup.
The Celtics and 76ers are set to fulfill within the playoffs as soon as once more.
When Boston and Philadelphia tip off Sport 1 of the first-round at TD Backyard on Sunday, it is going to mark an NBA-record twenty third postseason sequence between the 2 groups.
These groups cut up the regular-season sequence, and three of the video games had been determined by two factors or much less. It has been a aggressive matchup regardless of the well being struggles of former league MVP Joel Embiid.
The 76ers have a younger and explosive backcourt, headlined by Tyrese Maxey and rookie VJ Edgecombe. The Celtics have a confirmed championship-caliber core with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White main the way in which.
The final time these groups met within the playoffs, Tatum closed out Sport 7 of the 2023 Jap Convention semifinals with a 51-point efficiency at TD Backyard.
As we gear up for one more Boston-Philly playoff battle, listed here are 5 issues to find out about this 12 months’s 76ers workforce.
It’s not clear when Joel Embiid will probably be again.
Embiid has not performed since April sixth.
He underwent an emergency appendectomy in Houston final week, the place he was a late lineup scratch for a sport towards the Rockets.
The workforce has since stated that there isn’t any timeline for his return. He missed Philadelphia’s play-in event win towards Orlando Wednesday evening.
ESPN’s Shams Charania described Embiid’s standing heading into the playoffs as “uncertain”, saying that there are two components to the return course of – recovering from the surgical procedure and doing bodily rehab work.
Embiid has performed in simply 38 video games this season. He has been efficient when wholesome, averaging 26.9 factors, 7.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.2 blocks. However, his availability has been a constant query mark with him lacking greater than half of the regular-season video games.
The 76ers beat the Celtics on opening evening with Embiid capturing 1-for-9 from the sector. He didn’t play in Philadelphia’s Nov. 11 win towards the Celtics.
Tyrese Maxey’s efficiency towards the Celtics has been a blended bag.
Maxey was spectacular on opening evening, dropping 40 factors whereas drilling seven of his 9 3-pointers and chipping in 9 assists.
When he performs like that, the Sixers are harmful. They don’t have a ton of firepower round him, however he’s able to taking up video games.
The Celtics, nonetheless, appeared to determine Maxey out slightly bit because the season went on. He shot a mixed 9-for-51 over the past two matchups with the Celtics.
Paul George has been heating up not too long ago, however at age 35 he’s not the identical participant that he as soon as was. It’s not clear how lengthy Embiid might be out. Edgecombe appears to be an actual X-factor right here, together with how Maxey performs.
Celtics have an opportunity to dominate on the glass.
The Sixers are a median rebounding workforce. They’re seventeenth within the NBA in rebounding per sport. Rebounding seemed to be a weak point for the Celtics at first of the 12 months, however they’ve since turned it right into a energy.
They’ve morphed right into a top-3 rebounding workforce, and rebounding has been probably the most constant a part of Jayson Tatum’s sport since he returned from his damage.
Philadelphia is giving up 12 offensive rebounds per sport and 15.8 second-chance factors per sport. Each numbers put them within the bottom-six of the league, whereas the Celtics are top-7 in each.
The Celtics out-rebounded the Sixers in all 4 regular-season video games, and their aggressiveness on the glass will probably be key within the postseason.
Neither workforce turns the ball over a lot.
These are two of the top-five groups by way of committing the fewest turnovers. The Celtics are No. 1 and the 76ers are No. 5.
On the flip facet, they’re each within the bottom-three on the assist-per-game record.
Taking good care of the ball is essential within the playoffs, and it’s one thing that each groups do very well.
Will probably be fascinating to see which workforce will get rattled extra in clutch conditions.
Making it previous the first-round has been a battle for Philadelphia.
The 76ers have made it previous the first-round simply six instances previously 20 years.
They’ve misplaced within the first spherical 4 instances throughout that span and have had quite a lot of years the place they missed the playoffs fully. Philadelphia hasn’t made it to the Convention Finals since 2001.
The final time they made it previous the primary spherical was when the Celtics eradicated them within the following spherical in 2023.
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