6. (3) Boston Celtics vs. (6) Philadelphia 76ers
These two storied franchises will battle in the postseason once again. This matchup has all the history and star power even without Ben Simmons being able to suit up. The Celtics are the more cohesive and offensively explosive team, It’ll be interesting to see if Philly can take advantage of the size mismatches they still present even without the services of Simmons.
If the Sixers can exploit Boston’s bigs, this has the chance to be an exciting back and forth series. Joel Embiid will have to carry the Sixers on his back if they were to have a chance. If the spacing continues to be too much of a problem for Philadelphia, they could prove to be outmatched against Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, and Jaylen Brown, three scorers the 76ers don’t have many answers for with their best defensive weapon out.
The Sixers took three of four against Boston un the regular season, unfortunately without Simmons, this could be a lopsided series.