After a roller coaster regular season, the Philadelphia 76ers handled business in the Play-In Tournament against Orlando, earning the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference and a first-round matchup against the rival Boston Celtics. In Game 1 this afternoon in Boston, the Celtics are 13-point favorites to take a 1-0 lead in the series, and are huge minus-900 favorites to advance to the second round. If those lopsided odds have you down as a Sixers fan, can I remind you of another big upset that started
in Boston? It was a little thing called the American Revolution.
Unfortunately, the Sixers are without their George Washington in this clash between original colonial powers. Philadelphia only has one player listed on the injury report, but it’s a big one, with Joel Embiid out due to his post appendectomy surgery recovery. (Yes, Johni Broome is available to save the day.) There’s no realistic belief that Joel will be back soon to impact the series, but maybe Boston also has some injuries the Sixers could take advantage of today?
I guess not. Jayson Tatum has been back over a month now following Achilles surgery and appears to be fully ramped up. The All-NBA talent looking like himself is a big reason why the Celtics are now significant favorites to advance out of the East to the NBA Finals. Of course, that’s still a couple months away and the Sixers will hope to be more than a minor speed bump along the Celtics’ path.
The Sixers’ chances of making this a competitive series will start with their backcourt. We know Tyrese Maxey can shine on the biggest stage after seeing him average nearly 30 points per game in the series against New York two years ago. The year prior in the seven-game series loss to Boston was more of a mixed bag. Maxey scored 30 points in the Game 5 win to go up 3-2, but also had three games scoring 14 points or less. Of course, Tyrese has improved a ton over the past three seasons and his dropping 40 points in the regular season opener against Boston is more indicative of what we’re likely to see from him.
Philadelphia’s biggest X factor is rookie VJ Edgecombe, who didn’t look the least bit phased by the moment during the Play-In, recording 19 points and 11 rebounds and puffing his chest out at Jalen Suggs. Edgecombe found success against Boston this season, notably scoring 14 points in his first ever NBA quarter while facing the Celtics, a league record. His ability to create splash plays defensively and get out in transition will be vital for a Sixers’ offense that projects to struggle in the half court against Boston.
Aside from the whole having a deeper roster thing, the big advantage for Boston will be on the glass. The Sixers were a terrible defensive rebounding team this season and the Celtics were one of the better squads at creating second-chance opportunities. Andre Drummond played well against Orlando and had one or two solid performances this year against Boston. If he could channel 2020 Andre (only now with three-point shooting!), that would go a long way towards helping the Sixers stay within arms-length of Boston to pull off an upset.
If we’re going to do some straw grasping, it has been nine days since Boston’s regulars saw the court at all. Maybe there’s a bit of an adjustment period back to the intensity of live game action. The early afternoon start time could also play a factor. NBA players are largely very routine-oriented and have shifted their schedules to peak at nighttime. Today they’re playing at 1:00 pm Eastern when some of them might normally be taking naps. Obviously, it wouldn’t favor the Sixers more than the Celtics, but maybe things get wonky and that can only benefit the underdog.
The club who the Sixers share a building with was able to pull off a Game 1 win on the road yesterday. Time for the Sixers to get gritty and see if they can’t make Boston sweat here to start this first-round series.
Game Details
When: Sunday, April 19, 1:00 PM ET
Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Watch: ABC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers
