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The Washington Wizards knocked off the Indiana Pacers on Thursday in the play-in tournament and locked in a first-round battle with the Philadelphia 76ers. It's a matchup featuring the No. 1 seed (76ers) and the No. 8 seed (Wizards).
Although the Wizards are heavy underdogs in this series as the No. 8 seed, Philly knows they can't sleep on the boys from D.C. Russell Westbrook, Bradley Beal and the Wizards finished the regular season on fire and enter the postseason as one of the hotter teams in the association.
While the 76ers are top dog in the East, they best beware in this matchup. Here are two bold predictions for the 76ers – Wizards series in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
1.) The series will be tied 2-2 heading to Game 5
There's something about dipping your toes into the water before everyone else and that's exactly what the Wizards have done already. The 76ers rightfully earned the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. As a result, they got to kick their feet up and watch teams battle it out in the play-in tournament.
But being in the play-in tournament can have its advantages. The 76ers will have been off a week between games while the Wizards had to slug it out against the Celtics and Pacers just to scratch their way in. The Wizards have been in playoff mode for about a month now. The 76ers have coasted down the stretch after dominating teams left and right all season.
The Wizards are not your typical No. 8 seed. They really sputtered out of the gates this season before gluing the pieces together along the way. Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook have been a vibe on the court in the second half of the season and with two legitimate superstars, it could make things a tad uneasy for the 76ers.
Expect this series to be squared up at 2-2 heading into Game 5. The Wizards are in go-mode while the 76ers will just be restarting their engines again at the outset of this one. Like the Lakers in the West who are not a typical No. 7 seed, the Wizards are far better than the No. 8 seed by their name would indicate.
2.) Russell Westbrook will average a triple-double for the series
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This doesn't sound too bold on the surface, right? The dude has done it multiple times over the stretch of an entire regular season.
The playoffs are a different bear. Teams lock down, teams focus in, teams buckle up the defense in the postseason. It's why we see over / under's take a dip down to lower levels.
On top of that, this 76ers defense is legitimate. Ben Simmons is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year and Joel Embiid holds the fort down in the paint. On top of that they've got stellar defenders who get less attention like Danny Green and Matisse Thybulle. Despite all of it, Russ will average a triple-double when the series concludes.
Bradley Beal will draw a ton of the attention for the 76ers and their defense. And they have plenty of options to shuffle on and off of him throughout the series. Philly will likely be more than content with letting Westbrook take jumpers than opt to let Beal go crazy.
Westbrook will have difficulties with the 76ers' guards at times but he will have to be the motor at large junctures for the Wizards. Keep in mind Beal still hasn't and likely won't fully heal from the hamstring injury he's dealing with.
It doesn't sound bold initially, but factoring everything in it would be quite impressive and will be when Russell Westbrook averages a triple-double.
When a No. 1 plays a No. 8 seed it's often a snooze fest. The 76ers are legitimate but the Wizards aren't your prototypical No. 8 seed. While many including this guy fully expect the 76ers to advance, the Wizards will make life difficult at times for Philly.
