The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will meet in what should be an interesting first-round series between two of the most storied franchises in NBA history. While speaking on his podcast, Celtics center Enes Kanter took the opportunity to send a warning t the Sixers ahead of their matchup, which begins with Game 1 on Monday.
Kanter feels like Philadelphia wanted to face the Celtics in the first round, primarily because Philadelphia edged them 3-1 in the season series. However, the Turkish big man believes the Celtics are entering the playoffs as a much different team with a locked-in mindset:
Philly scored the win in the first encounter in a early season matchup between two preseason East favorites with a 107-93 victory. The Sixers followed that up with a 115-109 victory in mid-December, and then won again by double digits in a January game without Joel Embiid in the lineup. Boston avoided the season sweep with a convincing 116-95 win in early February.
The Sixers may have won the regular-season series in convincing fashion, but many analysts still regard Boston as the heavy favorite to advance to the second round.
The Celtics closed the seeding games as the No. 3 seed with a 48-24 mark, while Philadelphia finished sixth with a 43-30 record.
Philadelphia will not have the services of All-Star Ben Simmons for the rest of the playoffs, and this is a big blow for them moving forward. Boston, meanwhile, is rolling at the right time heading into the postseason. The Celtics went 5-3 in the bubble games, which included a convincing victory over the defending champion Toronto Raptors.
Kanter will have his hands full with Joel Embiid, and we'll see if he can rise to the challenge.