The Philadelphia 76ers (49-23) are in third place in the Eastern Conference with 10 games left before the playoffs begin. They have played excellent basketball since the beginning of December, and they have positioned themselves to make a deep run in the playoffs.
Led by stars Joel Embiid and James Harden and possessing a strong supporting cast, the Sixers seem poised to finally break through in the East this year.
However, Philadelphia will face challenges in the playoffs. Barring an unexpected change in the standings the rest of the way, the Sixers will have to go through both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics in some order. Those teams have been the top two in the conference almost all season, and they have finals experience up and down their rosters.
Philadelphia is 2-1 against the Bucks, so Milwaukee figures to be an opponent it would like to see. The Celtics are a different story. The Sixers are 0-3 against Boston, and Bleacher Report mentions the Celtics as a nightmare opponent for them once the playoffs roll around:
Boston is a perfect 3-0 against Philly this season, including two victories in the last month. The Celtics’ fourth-ranked defense (111.2 rating) has held a high-powered Sixers scoring attack to just 107 and 99 total points over their last two contests.
What should make Philly truly concerned is that Joel Embiid is still putting up his usual dominant numbers in these meetings (31.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks) and the 76ers still haven’t been able to come away with a win.
The Celtics have enough stoppers on the perimeter in Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and others to slow James Harden and Tyrese Maxey, putting extra pressure on the rest of Philly’s core to make shots around Embiid.
There is no question the Celtics will be a tough opponent in a seven-game series. Not only do they have enough defense to slow the Sixers on the perimeter, but they have the offense to keep up with them. However, Philadelphia will have a chance with its two elite players, Embiid and Harden.
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