As the two-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics are expected to make quick work of the seven-seed Philadelphia 76ers. Not surprisingly, Vegas has the Celtics as heavy favorites to win Game 1 and the series.
Nobody’s giving the 76ers much of a chance, especially given their lopsided postseason history against Boston. They’ll be without Joel Embiid to start the series, plus the Celtics are deeper, healthier, better rested, and have home-court advantage in the series.
Even without Embiid, however, Philadelphia’s still fairly scary for a seven seed. Between Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and V.J. Edgecombe, the Sixers still have enough talent to keep the series competitive and potentially steal some games from Boston.
While Philadelphia is top-heavy, it still looks like a more dangerous team than the five-seed Toronto Raptors, six-seed Atlanta Hawks and whoever ends up winning the eighth seed.
“If I’m Boston, I am more than a little bummed that this is who I drew from a pure star power ceiling perspective.”@getnickwright thinks the 76ers are scarier than Orlando, Atlanta, and Toronto: pic.twitter.com/ca4ySU2zi3
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 16, 2026
Accordingly, it’s fair to wonder if the Celtics got a bit unlucky with how the Eastern Conference standings shook out.
“If I’m Boston, I am more than a little bummed that this is who I drew from a pure star power ceiling perspective,” Nick Wright said on Thursday’s episode of “First Things First.” “I think they’re scarier than Atlanta or Toronto.”
The 76ers proved to be a tough matchup for the Celtics during the regular season, splitting their season series with them. Boston didn’t have Jayson Tatum for any of those games, however, so his presence should be enough to help put the Celtics over the top in this series, especially if Embiid misses multiple games.
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