Starters benched as Sixers lose Game 1 in a blowout; Embiid's status uncertain for series; NBC Sports Philadelphia loses out

The 76ers struggled from every standpoint to start Game 1 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. They trail 64-46 at halftime as a result.

They didn't create easy offense and didn't shoot it well, going 16-for-48 from the field and 2 of 16 from three. Tyrese Maxey and Paul George produced with 14 points and nine, respectively, but so did Boston's stars. Jayson Tatum had 21 points and Jaylen Brown had 10.

Boston also had more help down the depth chart. Sam Hauser, Neemis Queta, Luka Garza and Payton Pritchard were all plus players. Meanwhile, the Sixers' VJ Edgecombe struggled to knock down shots but finished with nine. Adem Bona and Andre Drummond were in foul trouble. Kelly Oubre Jr., was the rare outside bright spot, as he added toughness on defense and managed four points despite missing a few open threes himself.

The 76ers finished the first quarter trailing 33-18 after struggling on both sides and falling behind early as a result.

The Sixers struggled defensively as Boston shared the ball early, with Jayson Tatum, Sam Hauser and Jaylen Brown getting wide open looks.

On the other end, Boston threw a number of bodies at Tyrese Maxey and Paul George. VJ Edgecombe also wasn't involved in the offense much aside from a wide-open three he missed on the wing.

Tyrese Maxey drained an early three, a good sign for the 76ers. But Neemias Queta got out to a quick start for the Celtics, getting to the free-throw line and throwing down a thunderous one-hand dunk in the early moments of the first quarter. 

On the other side of the floor, the Sixers got into the teeth of the defense and forced his hand a few times, resulting in two early fouls and sending him to the bench.

That's big for the Sixers, who are without former MVP Joel Embiid and have a history of struggling to defend Queta.

Though it is tough to glean much from the four regular-season matchups between the Sixers and Celtics, Nick Nurse knows that Boston’s playing style won’t change much.

Which means the Celtics are going to fire a bunch of three-pointers, fueling one of the NBA’s most efficient offenses. In the regular season, Boston ranked fourth in the league in three-point attempts (42.1 per game), third in makes (15.5 per game) and eighth in percentage (36.7).

The Sixers, meanwhile, ranked in the bottom third in each category: 21st in attempts (35.3 per game), 22nd in makes (12.3 per game), and 23rd in percentage (34.9).

During the TNT tipoff show, Sixers legend Charles Barkley explained that he doesn't believe his former team has much of a chance in their NBA playoff matchup against the Boston Celtics.

The crux of his argument came down to one thing: mismatches. His belief is that the Sixers have none despite the brilliance of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and, more recently, Paul George.

Those three stars will lineup against three of the Celtics' best players in Derrick White, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

The most frequent playoff matchup in NBA history is back.

The No. 7 seed 76ers will take on the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in a best-of-seven series beginning on Sunday for the first time since 2023. The rivalry is renewed for a 24th time, by far the most in NBA history, with the second-most played being the Celtics and the New York Knicks (14 series). And it’s been pretty lopsided in the Celtics’ favor.

Boston leads with 15 series wins, and have a 66-50 overall playoff record against Philadelphia. The matchup goes all the way back to when the 76ers were the Syracuse Nationals in the 1950s.

Sixers fans will have to flip around the dial to watch this year's first-round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

In previous years, NBC Sports Philadelphia was able to broadcast first-round Sixers playoff games in and around the city. But they lost those rights this year thanks to the NBA's new 11-year, $76 billion media rights deals with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon.

“It’s a poor decision,” veteran announcer Mike Breen said earlier this month. “Fans want to hear their home team announcers, at least in the first round. For so many of us, they become part of the family.

The path is narrow, and the odds of following it are long. But, hey, at least it exists. You can find it on a map. That’s more than you usually can say about a seven seed in the NBA playoffs.

Not much of a rallying cry, I know. But let’s keep things in perspective. The 76ers will head to Boston looking to become just the seventh No. 7 seed to win a playoff series since the field expanded to 16 teams in 1984. The odds are long, even if you factor in the six No. 8 seeds that also have won a playoff series. The Celtics are -900 favorites to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals. Context is important.

The best we can say is that the Sixers aren’t your usual first-round cupcakes. In Tyrese Maxey, they not only have the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer, but also a player who has 41 games of postseason experience. Maxey’s 29.8 points per game in his last six postseason contests is higher than the scoring averages of Jayson Tatum (28.7) or Jaylen Brown (21.3) in their last six.

Andre Drummond let the three-pointer fly from the right corner, erupting with his 76ers’ teammates and the home crowd when the ball splashed through the net.

It was a euphoric capper to the 76ers’ play-in tournament victory over the Orlando Magic, sending them to a first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Boston Celtics. And it’s a scenario that Drummond — the 32-year-old center who, before this season, had made only 18 three-pointers in his entire 13-year career — never would have envisioned when he first entered the NBA as a teenager.

“You live for those moments,” Drummond said postgame, “as a kid, in the backyard, counting down ‘3 … 2 … 1,’ and making it.”

The Sixers are back in the playoffs after missing out last season, thanks in part to Wednesday’s Play-In Tournament win over the Orlando Magic. Their prize? A first-round date with the Boston Celtics, a team the Sixers haven’t beat in the postseason since Ronald Reagan’s first term and one they’ve never eliminated without either Wilt Chamberlain or Dr. J on the court.

Unfortunately for Philly fans, there aren’t many outside the city who think that’s going to change this time around, as almost no one is giving the No. 7 seed Sixers a realistic chance at pulling off the upset over the two-seeded Celtics.

Despite the Celtics being a -900 favorite to with the series (with the Sixers at +600), there is a path to an upset according to columnist David Murphy, who lists three things the Sixers need in order to do the improbable.