Sixers-Celtics first round matchup is set for 2020 NBA playoffs

The Sixers will battle old foes in the first round of the 2020 NBA playoffs.

After a wacky, largely disappointing, and sometimes baffling 2019-20 season, the Philadelphia 76ers are officially locked into the No. 6 seed. The result is a first-round matchup with the Boston Celtics, because the basketball gods have made Sixers and torture synonymous.

On paper, this is a good matchup for Philadelphia. The Celtics don’t have a proper answer to Joel Embiid, who will have touches aplenty in the absence of Ben Simmons. Daniel Theis is a solid defender, but Embiid has bodied him time and time again in past showdowns.

However, with Simmons out and the Sixers yet to establish a consistent rhythm in Orlando, my confidence is running thin. Boston is a good team, and Jayson Tatum’s ascension to borderline superstardom will do no favors for Philadelphia. Especially when Simmons is not available to check him every time down the court.

The Sixers’ current starting five — which features Al Horford at power forward — is ill-equipped to handle Boston’s smaller, quicker lineup. I’m not sure who Horford is supposed to defend, not to mention Shake Milton. There’s a chance Brett Brown adjusts — if there was ever a time to start Matisse Thybulle, this is it — but in general, the Celtics’ offense will have the upper hand.

If Embiid plays at the level he has so far in Orlando, the Sixers will have a chance. He’s the best player in the series by a solid margin (with all due respect to Tatum), and his pre-injury performance level in the bubble was highly promising. If he’s consistently making sharp reads out of double teams, the Celtics’ defense will find it difficult to contain Philadelphia’s offense. Such is the nature of Joel Embiid.

This is by no means a death sentence for Philadelphia. In fact, many preferred Boston over Miami. This also pushes back a hypothetical Bucks matchup for the longest possible time, which is good. Milwaukee is the unsolvable problem Philadelphia will need to crack if title contention is the goal.

The Simmons injury has put a damper on any real optimism around the Sixers’ postseason. Even so, this should turn into a fairly entertaining series. And, if nothing else, we can bare witness to the slew of spicy takes that derive from a Celtics win over Al Horford’s Philadelphia 76ers.