The Celtics and 76ers begin their first round playoff series at 1 p.m. on Sunday at TD Garden and the Garden Report is selecting Boston in a clean sweep across the board, but is divided in how long the series will go. The Celtics entered the season with low expectations and will begin the postseason as a heavy round one favorite, along with a popular pick to win the Eastern Conference. The 76ers will likely play most if not all of the opening round without Joel Embiid, who underwent appendix surgery earlier this month.
A. Sherrod Blakely: Celtics in 5
The playoffs just wouldn’t feel like the playoffs if we didn’t have a Boston-Philly series. Boston has won the last six playoff series against the Sixers, and No. 7 looks like its on the horizon.
Even at full strength, Boston would be the favorite. But Sixers big man Joel Embiid (appendectomy recovery) unlikely to be healthy enough to play, Philly looks fried. Tyrese Maxey will put up big numbers. VJ Edgecombe will play well, too.
But Boston has too many Swiss Army-like players who can score, rebound and defend at the highest of levels.
Throw in the fact that Jaylen Brown, a top-5 caliber MVP candidate this year, has his running mate – and the team’s best player – Jayson Tatum back, it poses the kind of pick-your-poison scenario that will prove to be too much for Philly to contend with, let alone win the series.
Noa Dalzell: Celtics in 5
I have the Celtics winning in 5, but I don’t think it’ll be a cakewalk and could see several games going down to the wire. Philadelphia has one of the league’s most unstoppable offensive players in Maxey, and a slew of other talented players who could each turn a game (Edgecombe, Paul George, etc). But, Neemias Queta should have a big series and the Celtics having a fully-available roster — and the superior bench and depth — should give them the upper hand. (Oh yeah, and Tatum and Brown).
Bobby Manning: Celtics in 4
This feels bold, especially following a postseason where only two series ended in a sweep and a 2-2 regular season series between the Celtics and Sixers, but between Embiid’s absence, Boston’s unique ability to slow and attack Maxey, along with the superior depth in this series, I’ll take the sweep. There are ways the Sixers can find a win here, whether Maxey erupting, players going off from three that the Celtics guard away from hitting their shots or cold shooting on Boston’s side. This series will test many things — the sustainability of the Celtics’ offensive rebounding, and in turn, how well they can perform when they miss on offense. Queta and others will also play their first postseason action, an experience they should ease into given their opponent’s vulnerabilities. If Tatum plays around the level he closed the season at, this should be a series that Boston can cruise through. That’s assuming the contributions they received up and down the roster throughout the season continue. They’ll need to figure out what they have between Nikola Vučević, Jordan Walsh, Hugo González and Baylor Scheierman here, but that shouldn’t through the team’s playoff-tested core off its path too much.
Jimmy Toscano: Celtics in 5
Maxey is a killer and will definitely still get his. He could finish with a game high in points every game this series but just doesn’t have enough around him right now. It’s too bad Embiid isn’t on the court as he always makes things interesting. I would call this a rivalry except it’s always just Celtics beating up on the Sixers, and I don’t see that changing this year. Maybe Philly gets two games if Celtics are caught sleeping, but if the C’s show up like they have been all season, this will be a quick series.
John Zannis: Celtics in 6
It’s a strange thing, these Boston Celtics of ours. After a 56 win season – much of which was accomplished without their best all-around player – part of me still remains dubious. Are they really that good? Like really? Is this a legitimate championship contender? I’ve maintained all season that while I (and several others, you can’t hide) did not foresee this kind of regular season success i’m not ready to rubber stamp this team as the real deal until I see what they look like in the playoffs against real opponents when the games actually matter. Therefore, I have to remain true to my roots as a doubter (or hater if you prefer) and predict that the Celtics aren’t going to cruise to victory as easily as everyone might think. They still win the series but I think they drop one of the first two at home and possibly one more after that. Anything more than five will freak green teamers out and make for some spirited sports talk television, but honestly, I don’t think it’s that big a deal.
