Celtics to face Philadelphia 76ers in first round of NBA playoffs
Seven of the eight first-round matchups are st.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The NBA playoff bracket is nearly set.
The Celtics, locked into the third seed, will face the sixth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the opening round. It’ll be the second time in three years the two teams will meet in the playoffs.
Boston is 1-3 against the Sixers this season; however, Philadelphia will enter the postseason without guard Ben Simmons, who is out after undergoing surgery to remove a loose body from his left knee.
The winner of the Sixers-Celtics series will take on either the No. 2 seed Toronto Raptors or No. 7 seed Brooklyn Nets in the second round. The other two Eastern Conference matchups feature the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks against the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat vs. the Indiana Pacers.
In the Western Conference: Houston and Oklahoma City will meet in the first round, meaning Rockets guard Russell Westbrook and Thunder guard Chris Paul get the chance to face their former teams.
“It’ll be interesting,” Paul said. “Two teams that know a lot about each other. We’ll prepare, get ready and we’ll see what’s what.”
Other West matchups that got clinched on Wednesday include the second-seeded Los Angeles Clippers against No. 7 Dallas, and No. 3 Denver against No. 6 Utah.
The full list of matchups won’t be known until at least Saturday, when the West play-in series begins with Portland, Memphis, Phoenix, and San Antonio bidding for those two spots. The winner of that series will take on the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round, the only matchup that’s yet to be determined.
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