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Andrej Stojakovic is back at Illinois for his senior year, boosting their title hopes!
The Boston Celtics face the Philadelphia 76ers in a playoff matchup, with the Celtics heavily favored to win. The 76ers will start the series without star player Joel Embiid, complicating their chances.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey
Did Celtics Catch Bad Break With Tricky Playoff Matchup Vs. 76ers? originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
As the two-seed in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics are expected to make quick work of the seven-seed PhiladelphiaĀ 76ers. Not surprisingly, Vegas has the Celtics as heavy favorites to win GameĀ 1 and the series.
Nobody's giving theĀ 76ers much of a chance, especially given their lopsided postseason history against Boston. They'll be without Joel Embiid to start the series, plus the Celtics are deeper, healthier, better rested, and have home-court advantage in the series.
Even without Embiid, however, Philadelphia's still fairly scary for a seven seed. Between , Paul George andĀ V.J. Edgecombe, the Sixers still have enough talent to keep the series competitive and potentially steal some games from Boston.
The Celtics are favored due to their better overall team depth, health, and home-court advantage.
Joel Embiid will be unavailable to start the series against the Celtics.
The Celtics have a lopsided postseason history that overwhelmingly favors them against the 76ers.

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While Philadelphia is top-heavy, it still looks like a more dangerous team than the five-seed Toronto Raptors, six-seed Atlanta Hawks and whoever ends up winning the eighth seed.
Accordingly, it's fair to wonder if the Celtics got a bit unlucky with how the Eastern Conference standings shook out.
āIf Iām Boston, I am more than a little bummed that this is who I drew from a pure star power ceiling perspective," Nick Wright said on Thursday's episode of "First Things First." "I think they're scarier than Atlanta or Toronto."
TheĀ 76ers proved to be a tough matchup for the Celtics during the regular season, splitting their season series with them. Boston didn't have Jayson Tatum for any of those games, however, so his presence should be enough to help put the Celtics over the top in this series, especially if Embiid misses multiple games.