{"id":708444,"date":"2026-04-11T21:00:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T21:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708444\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T21:00:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T21:00:22","slug":"celtics-preferred-opponent-should-be-obvious-as-playoff-seeding-comes-into-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/708444\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics’ preferred opponent should be obvious as playoff seeding comes into focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

With just one final day in the NBA regular season, almost everything has been determined as far as playoff seeding. The Celtics are locked into the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference, which means they\u2019ll play the winner of the 7 vs. 8 play-in game that will take place on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Technically, there are still three teams that could possibly fall into that game, but with the Raptors only needing to beat the lowly Nets to avoid the play-in, it seems all but locked in that the Celtics\u2019 first-round opponent will either be the Orlando Magic or the Philadelphia 76ers.<\/p>\n

Just under a week ago, I ranked each of the Celtics\u2019 potential first-round opponents<\/a> by how much I\u2019d want to play them. I had the Magic at #2 on the list, only behind the Heat, and I had the Sixers at #4, only ahead of the Hawks and Hornets. But let that list serve as a reminder of how quickly things can change in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Since I posted that blog, the Magic have rattled off five straight wins, and look fully healthy and are playing like a cohesive unit for the first time all season. On the other hand, the Sixers have struggled with Tyrese Maxey looking like a different player since returning from injury, and Joel Embiid being ruled out indefinitely with Appendicitis.<\/p>\n

A series with the Magic would be a bloodbath<\/p>\n

The last week has changed everything. Now, the Magic look like a team that\u2019s getting hot at the right time. We saw them last year in the playoffs, and though they were banged up, they gave the Celtics a good fight and caused a lot of wear and tear in that five-game series.<\/p>\n

This time around, they\u2019ve added Desmond Bane, and they\u2019ve got a healthy Franz Wagner. It\u2019s still a series that Boston should win, but they\u2019ve looked a lot better recently, and though the sample size is extremely small, with their starting lineup on the floor, they\u2019ve had a 12.1 net rating<\/a>, which would be best in the NBA.<\/p>\n

Add their upside and potential to their health and the physicality they always bring, and we know this would be a tough, hard-fought series. On top of that, they should have a heightened level of urgency and some desperation. They had high expectations coming into the season after trading four first-round picks for Bane, and this season has been a massive disappointment.<\/p>\n

If they can\u2019t make an unlikely playoff run, there\u2019s a good chance that some major changes are coming to Orlando in the offseason, so this could be a bit of a last stand for them. Playing a team that\u2019s fighting for their lives would not be a fun experience.<\/p>\n

The Sixers without Embiid can’t bother the Celtics<\/p>\n

Philly, on the other hand, is trending in the opposite direction. Without Embiid, they\u2019re looking at a frontcourt rotation of Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow, and Jabari Walker. Paul George has looked solid since returning from his suspension, but his days as a number one option are in the rearview. Maxey is always a threat, but he looks like the burden of the long season and his hand injury are affecting him.<\/p>\n

Even when fully healthy, the Sixers are more of a finesse team than a physical one. Without Embiid, they simply don\u2019t have the talent to give the Celtics much trouble, and this one reeks of an easy sweep or maybe a gentleman’s sweep.<\/p>\n

Either way, the Celtics should be looking at homecourt advantage against a seven-seed, and that\u2019s a series they should win regardless of opponent. But with a showdown against the Knicks looming in round two, the less taxing round one ends up being the better, and given the current options, the preference should be clear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With just one final day in the NBA regular season, almost everything has been determined as far as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3769],"tags":[679,7,6,678,207,3817],"class_list":{"0":"post-708444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-76ers","8":"tag-76ers","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-philadelphia","12":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","13":"tag-philadelphia76ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116388090854756341","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}