They say if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Well, the Philadelphia 76ers have checked “beat the best” off the list after winning a first-round series in seven games over the Boston Celtics, who were the odds-on favorite to reach the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference. So are they now the best the East has to offer?
The New York Knicks will certainly have something to say about that idea, as the two teams get set to square off in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals
series tonight. Per FanDuel, the Knicks have the best odds to reach the Finals out of the East at plus-145, followed by the Pistons (plus-240), Cavaliers (plus-310), and then the Sixers (plus-600).
Objectively, it makes sense to pick the Knicks to advance over Philadelphia. They won eight more games during the regular season and have home-court advantage in the series. Plus, as usual, Joel Embiid’s health looms as a factor. He’s currently listed as probable for Game 1 with a right hip contusion, but is also known due to be dealing with a knee issue, an oblique strain and had his appendix removed just a few weeks ago. I love Joel for continuing to battle and do everything to show up for his team, but the reality is every game played is like removing another block from the jenga tower that is his body and hoping it all doesn’t come crashing down.
Yet, all of those points could have been made for the Boston series to an even higher degree, and it was still the Sixers who emerged victorious. They certainly have to be considered the vibes favorite with everything clicking into place for the roster at the right time. During the last couple Boston games, Embiid looked as poised as he ever has in the postseason. Tyrese Maxey became the lights-out closer the franchise has always needed and never had with the exception of a few months of Jimmy Butler. Paul George and VJ Edgecombe both hit big shots and defended like madmen, incredibly impressive for one guy who just turned 36 years old and another who is a 20-year-old rookie seeing his first playoff action. Every talking head segment from this season of, “The Sixers could be the potential dark horse no one wants to face” finally became a reality.
Looking at the Knicks series specifically, you can see the blueprint for a Sixers victory. VJ Edgecombe defended Jalen Brunson incredibly well during the regular season, and Philadelphia has a handful of other viable options to throw at him in Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George and Quentin Grimes. They’ve also been able to exploit Brunson as a defensive liability in the past, something that doesn’t really exist on the other side of the court, credit to Maxey for improving so much as a defender. Embiid has had success against Karl-Anthony Towns in past matchups. The biggest potential advantage for New York will be on the offensive glass; it’s only too easy conjure visions of Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart grabbing every possible second-chance opportunity. However, the Sixers did look to figure some things out in that department as the Boston series progressed. These two teams played a highly competitive playoff series two years ago, and that was a better Knicks squad, and the Sixers now have George and Edgecombe and Embiid not playing on one leg (hopefully). It’s not hard to project a Philadelphia win.
And if that should happen, who is scared of Detroit or Cleveland? Both teams also just had to win Game 7s to be here. Respect to Cade Cunningham, but the Pistons would be home if Orlando hadn’t missed 23 straight shots in the second half of Game 6. I mean, they’re treating Tobias Harris like some sort of folk hero there. He scored zero points (!) in his last playoff game as a Sixer. Cleveland would present its own set of challenges, but would anyone go into that series thinking, “Philadelphia couldn’t possibly overcome James Harden in the postseason?” I don’t think so.
This isn’t to say things will be easy for the Sixers. We can’t let the last two-and-a-half games completely erase all the general Sixers-ness we’ve witnessed over the years, as recently as Games 1 and 4 against Boston. But they have a real shot. Philadelphia hasn’t had this sort of opportunity since Ben Simmons declined to shoot an open layup against Atlanta. The path is there. Now the Sixers just have to march down it with all the competitive fire we witnessed last week and seize this moment.
