Sixers-Celtics news: Embiid's status uncertain for series; NBC Sports Philadelphia loses out

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.

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.