Sixers: Ranking possible first-round matchups in 2021

Sixers’ potential first-round matchup #4: Boston Celtics

Look, are the Celtics actually better than the Hawks and Hornets? Probably not. Am I still scarred from multiple postseason collapses involving better iterations of this Celtics roster? You bet. There’s too much bad mojo to rank this matchup lower, even if Boston is a highly favorable opponent on paper.

The Celtics have a shoddy bench, no center depth, and a collection of stars who the Sixers are well-equipped to defend. Ben Simmons can check Jayson Tatum better than most, and Joel Embiid  has looked like Thor wielding Stormbreaker against the Celtics defense this season.

Embiid would ideally have a field day against a team with no real answers to his physicality in the post. The Celtics’ long track record of stifling Embiid is worrisome, but the players who were key to stopping him in the past — Al Horford and Aron Baynes — are long gone.

Also gone are Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, the latter of whom was evidently more important to Boston’s offensive continuity than he got credit for. Whether it’s bad luck, the wonky circumstances, or just flat-out roster failure, the Celtics are a losing team this season. The Sixers should, at long last, have their number.