Sixers’ third-best matchup: Washington Wizards
Sixers record against Washington: (3-0)
December 23rd vs Washington (W) 113-107
January 6th vs Washington (W) 141-136
March 12th @ Washington (W) 127-101
The Sixers had two nail biters against the Wizards this year, including a season opener in which Embiid had to completely take over in the fourth quarter to eke out the win. Then two weeks later Bradley Beal dropped a 60 piece in a thriller that Philly managed to hang on to. The Wizards may have been ranked even higher if Thomas Bryant hadn’t torn his ACL in January. Without him the Sixers crushed Washington in their third game, with Embiid scoring 23 in just 20 minutes.
The Wizards are one of the play-in teams that the Sixers are going to struggle a little bit guarding simply because they have two superstar guards. Philly can guard both Westbrook and Beal when Simmons and Thybulle share the floor, but there will likely be big minutes in which Seth Curry or even Shake Milton will be forced to hold their own against the star duo. The key to winning this series for the Sixers is Tobias Harris and Embiid doing as much damage as possible down low while limiting Beal’s scoring. It won’t be easy, but the Sixers have the tools to win this series in four or five games.
Sixers’ fourth-best matchup: Boston Celtics
Sixers record against Boston: (3-0)
January 20th vs Boston (W) 117-109
January 22nd vs Boston (W) 122-110
April 6th @ Boston (W) 106-96
The 76ers swept the Celtics this year for the first time in twenty years, and saying that Joel Embiid was dominant would be an understatement. Their first game came down to the wire, but Embiid’s 42 points and a few clutch shots from Danny Green and Tobias Harris put this one away. After the Celtics swept them in the first round of last year’s playoffs, this Sixers team showed up motivated and played hard all 48 minutes in all three games, making a statement that they were not the same team as last year.
If it weren’t for the first round sweep last year, this team would likely be ranked as an even better matchup. The Celtics’ biggest weakness this year has been paint defense and figuring out how to stop high quality centers, and the Sixers’ biggest strengths on offense are their paint attack and their superstar center. They match up great with the Celtics from top to bottom, with Philly able to throw some combination of Thybulle, Simmons, and Green at Boston’s star duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. Tristan Thompson works hard down low but just doesn’t stand a chance against Embiid, who averaged over 38 points in this three-game season series.
This is still one of the riskier first round matchups due to the playoff experience of the Celtics and the history between these two teams, but the Sixers should look forward to getting a chance at revenge.