{"id":712837,"date":"2026-04-18T01:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T01:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712837\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T01:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T01:03:23","slug":"joe-mazzulla-explains-why-celtics-face-tough-test-in-first-round-vs-sixers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/712837\/","title":{"rendered":"Joe Mazzulla explains why Celtics face \u2018tough test\u2019 in first round vs. Sixers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are set to meet for the 23rd time in the NBA playoffs on Sunday, reigniting one of the league\u2019s most historic rivalries. To coach Joe Mazzulla, this Sixers team in particular presents a challenge for the C\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cPhilly\u2019s a great team, as you saw throughout the season, and to get to this point with all the injuries that they\u2019ve had and to be where they are now, it\u2019s gonna be a tough test for us,\u201d Mazzulla told reporters at Friday\u2019s practice, per CLNS Media<\/a>. \u201cWe gotta be ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To secure a playoff spot, the Sixers overcame the challenge of turning a shorthanded roster into a contender. Both Joel Embiid and Paul George played less than half of the regular season, forcing coach Nick Nurse to adapt. Guard Tyrese Maxey inherited the No. 1 role, averaging a career-high 28.3 points across 70 starts, while rookie V.J. Edgecombe averaged 16 points on 43.8 percent shooting in 75 starts.<\/p>\n

Obviously, playing without two of your top three players isn\u2019t ideal. However, as Mazzulla explained, the Sixers managed to find a silver lining in what many would consider a throwaway season.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith those guys out throughout the season, their role players have been able to develop into big-time roles,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cWith the way (Kelly) Oubre\u2019s playing, (Andre) Drummond has been playing, (Adem) Bona has gotten better and better, (Quentin) Grimes off the bench \u2014 so I think they\u2019re a very, very well-balanced team. I think they\u2019re playing some of their best basketball as they get healthier and healthier, and obviously they\u2019re a well-coached team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BOSTON,<\/a><\/p>\n

BOSTON, MA – MARCH 1: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket during the game against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 1, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and\/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau\/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Philadelphia snuck into the play-in tournament and defeated the Orlando Magic on Wednesday without Embiid, who underwent emergency surgery last week after being diagnosed with appendicitis.<\/p>\n

For the time being, there isn\u2019t a definitive timetable for Embiid\u2019s return. Nurse announced Friday that Embiid is officially ruled out for Game 1 against the Celtics and didn\u2019t address whether a return at any point throughout the series is still in play.<\/p>\n

Drummond, in his 14th season, came off the bench and notched a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double in 31 minutes during Philadelphia\u2019s play-in victory. He and Bona combined for six blocks against Orlando, helping fill the void of Embiid\u2019s absence in a way the Celtics will have to account for in Round 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose other guys have developed to impact winning, and they\u2019re a well-balanced team because of that,\u201c Mazulla added.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar situation to what Boston dealt with, playing its first 62 games without Jayson Tatum. The Sixers went 21\u201323 without Embiid, but the ups and downs allowed others to figure out what Nurse would need from them in order to succeed. Nurse admitted after their win over the Magic that the process \u201cwasn\u2019t pretty,\u201d but it was still enough to get the Sixers to this point and give themselves a chance.<\/p>\n

Twice in the regular season, Nurse\u2019s Sixers beat Mazzulla\u2019s Celtics across four meetings. Philadelphia was without Embiid in two of those games and did not have George in any of them.<\/p>\n

The Celtics have the upper hand in having not played since their regular-season finale this past Sunday. Their starters, all of whom sat out, haven\u2019t played since last Friday. With plenty of time to rest and prepare, Mazzulla is focused on making sure Boston begins its postseason run the right way.<\/p>\n

\u201cGame 1s of any series are always important,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cYou want to get off to a great start. You want to have your game plan right. You want to have your sub-pattern right. You want to be able to execute. You want to make sure all the things you\u2019ve been working on all week are there.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the same time, every series takes on a life of its own. So we want to be at our best by Game 1, but we also want to be in the mind frame of however long it takes, we\u2019re gonna sit in this. We\u2019re playing against a great team, so whatever we have to do, we have to be ready to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers are set to meet for the 23rd time in the NBA playoffs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":712838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3769],"tags":[679,7,21388,6,678,207,3817],"class_list":{"0":"post-712837","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-celtics-news","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-philadelphia","13":"tag-philadelphia-76ers","14":"tag-philadelphia76ers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116423021198587559","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712837","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=712837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/712837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/712838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=712837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=712837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=712837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}