After defeating the Orlando Magic in the Play-In Tournament on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers captured the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. They will now face the 2nd-seed, the Boston Celtics, in a best-of-7 first-round series.
Game 1 is Sunday in Boston.
Coming into the series, the 76ers, who will be without Joel Embiid to start the series as he recovers from an appendectomy, are the underdogs.
Not many are giving them a chance to defeat the Celtics, especially without Embiid.
Obviously, defeating Boston will be a tall task. They have Jayson Tatum back, and they have an MVP candidate in Jaylen Brown.
However, 76ers coach Nick Nurse likes the way his team is playing and believes that if they play hard, they can compete with the Celtics.
“I think we’re playing a little better,” Nurse said at practice on Friday. “I think we’re getting a little more used to each other again, and this group of guys. I just want to go in and play really well, and if we play really well, and play our backsides off, then we should have a chance to do some stuff.”
Paul George says the 76ers respect the Celtics, but Philly will compete.
“We’ve given them their respect,” George said. “At the end of the day, it’s competition. We gotta go and compete, they gotta go and compete. That’s just what it boils down to.”
In order for the 76ers to defeat the Celtics, they are going to need Tyrese Maxey to play like the All-Star he is, which he did in the Play-In tournament against the Magic, and George, who signed a four-year, $212 million max deal with the 76ers two years ago, to be at his best. In addition, everyone else will have to step up, and, of course, they’ll need Embiid to return at some point.
The 76ers will compete. Without Embiid, they’ll lose to the Celtics in six, and with Embiid, anything is possible.
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