Should Celtics fear Sixers or Heat in first round of NBA playoffs?

[ad_1]

Should Celtics fear Sixers or Heat in first round of NBA playoffs? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

There’s a very high likelihood the Boston Celtics face a perennial Eastern Conference contender in Round 1 of the NBA playoffs.

As the East’s No. 1 seed, the Celtics will draw the No. 8 seed, which will the winner of the NBA play-in tournament “loser’s bracket” game. The No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers will host the No. 8 Miami Heat on Wednesday night with the winner securing the No. 7 seed, and the loser of that game will play the winner of the No. 9 vs. No. 10 matchup (Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks) for the right to earn the No. 8 seed.

The Sixers and Heat both would be favored in a matchup against the Bulls or Hawks (especially at home), so the loser of Sixers-Heat on Tuesday would be Boston’s most likely opponent.

Given Philly and Miami’s playoff pedigrees, should the Celtics or their fans be concerned about this potentially tricky first-round matchup? Former Celtics forward and current C’s radio analyst Cedric Maxwell shared a definitive take Monday on NBC Sports Boston’s Arbella Early Edition.

“Get a dog if you’re afraid,” Maxwell said. “This (Celtics) team is a great team, and the way they’re playing right now constitutes who they are. This is a defensive team. They get things done on both ends of the floor. Yes, they had a huge lead (in the East standings) and then they start coasting a little bit. I didn’t really like that. But I tell you what, when I look at this team in totality, this team really can run the table.”

While the Sixers took Boston to Game 7 of the East semifinals last year — and even had a 3-2 series lead before the Celtics rallied to win the series — they’ve lost six consecutive playoff series to their East nemesis dating to 1982 and have lost six of their last eight regular-season matchups against Boston.

So, even with reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid back in the mix for the Sixers, Maxwell believes the Celtics would have a clear advantage if Philly is the opponent.

“They’ve played Philadelphia extremely well this year,” Maxwell said of the Celtics. “Over the last couple of years, they’ve…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-fear-sixers-heat-first-135454214.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-04-16 13:54:54

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.