The Philadelphia 76ers are currently in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. If the season ended today, they will be slated to face a very familiar face in the first round of the playoffs in the Boston Celtics, which are the third seed as of writing. While the standings will still shake up a lot, there is indeed a strong possibility that this rivalry will kickstart the postseason as a first-round matchup.
Even without Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are still a great team. However, the 76ers are leading the season series at the moment with two wins and one loss versus Boston. As such, Philly should want to retain its edge over its bitter rival, and with that in mind, they better hope that the Celtics fumble in their rumored plan before the trade deadline.
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Boston is one of the teams rumored to be in the running for Pelicans big man Yves Missi. The young center has garnered a lot of interest over the last week or so, and he certainly falls squarely within the Celtics’ urgent need for a playable big man. Now, that is something the 76ers should not want to transpire.
The 76ers should feel threatened by the Celtics eyeing a trade for a big man
With Joel Embiid back to playing like an MVP-caliber superstar, the 76ers have an indisputable edge over the Celtics at the center position in a hypothetical matchup. Boston plays a more consistent breand of basketball with an offensive scheme built to outlast defenses, but overcoming Embiid down low should prove to be a tedious trek for them.
No offense to the big men out in Boston, but none of their options can even hope to slow a healthy Embiid down. Neemias Queta and Luka Garza have been better than expected for the Celtics, but they have absolute no experience playing in high-stakes games.
Missi, while having already fallen out of favor in New Orleans, should be a much better option than the aforesaid players. While he likewise cannot match up equally against Embiid, he can at least offer more resistance against the 76ers by simply being an option that Joe Mazzulla can trot out to make Embiid work at the very least.
A playoff meeting between the 76ers and the Celtics is certainly within the realm of reality, which makes it all the more important for Philly to hold onto its edge down low. As such, they better hope that Boston is rendered unable to trade for Yves Missi, or for any other competent center before the deadline.