The Boston Celtics are the reigning Eastern Conference Champions.
After losing to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, many people think the Celtics will make it back to the Finals this year.
Boston reloaded their roster with the addition of Malcolm Brogdon, and once again are a deep team.
The Celtics are currently 54-24 and are 1.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the number one seed.
Boston has shown an ability to dominate the Bucks over the past few seasons.
They defeated the Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals last year.
Also, the Celtics just beat Milwaukee by 41 points on Thursday.
Boston should have extreme confidence if they have to meet the Bucks again in the playoffs.
But Fox Sports analyst Nick Wright believes those two teams will not meet in the playoffs.
Wright thinks the Philadelphia 76ers will knock the Celtics out of the postseason.
Nick Wright doubts the Celtics will advance to the ECF
“I don’t think Boston is going to beat Philadelphia”
(Via @FTFonFS1 ) pic.twitter.com/c4KNEbuX4d
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) April 1, 2023
“Boston has shown they’re the worst matchup in the league for Milwaukee. … Boston knows they can go to Milwaukee and win. This isn’t nothing. But Milwaukee will still be the No. 1 seed. I don’t think the Bucks will have to play the Celtics in the playoffs.” — @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/rEBKrrvkyY
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) March 31, 2023
Many fans think that is a crazy take, especially because the Celtics have the 76ers’ number this year.
Boston has won all three of the matchups so far with the fourth next week.
Boston is 3-0 vs Phili this year, the 76ers just dont have the perimeter defenders to keep up with the Celtics.
— Beyond The Data (@BeyondTheData) April 1, 2023
Absolutely incredible people think the Sixers can beat the Celtics
— BCU AD (@fox_duke) April 1, 2023
The one thing going for the 76ers this year is that they have MVP favorite Joel Embiid.
He has been the most dominant player in the NBA this season and leads the league in scoring (33.0 points per game).
But the X-factor in a series might be the play of James Harden.
He is a former league MVP and will need to elevate his game this postseason.
As a sixer fan there’s no way sixers are beating Boston unless harden plays at a super star level if he’s not hitting his shots the celtics will just start double to triple teaming embiid and it’s game over!!
— realness🔨 (@carter92418) April 1, 2023
If Harden can not play at an elite level, the Sixers could be in some trouble.
Some Philly fans are not even confident their team can get it done.
Bruh I’m a Sixers fan and we can’t even beat Boston to save our lives 😂🤦🏾♂️
— Chris 😒 (@youngchris_97) April 1, 2023
It will certainly be an interesting matchup if we get the Celtics and 76ers in round two.
So while Wright’s prediction might be crazy to some people, it is certainly within the realm of possibility.
