The Philadelphia 76ers are now aware of their first-round opponent after the Washington Wizards blew out the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night. While it's a No.1 vs. No. 8 seed matchup, the Sixers aren't taking anything for granted.

Head coach Doc Rivers recently spoke on how they can slow down superstars Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook, who have the ability to torch basically any team in the NBA.

“First is transition,” said the Sixers coach, via USA Today. “They’re a great transition team and against us, they’ll probably try to be more of that would be my guess. Second is obviously those two guys. In one hand, you got Russ pushing the ball up the floor, putting a ton of pressure, trying to be the most physical guard in the series. Then you got Bradley, he’s just a flamethrower so you have to deal with both. It’s not one or the other, it’s both.”

The Wizards are indeed a quick team in transition, much in part to the sheer athleticism of Westbrook. They ranked 1st in the league in pace this season and in transition points, collecting 24.9 per night. But, the Sixers also have two solid perimeter defenders of their own in Ben Simmons and Matisse Thybulle who are capable of containing Russ and Beal.

Simmons didn't play down how tough of a series this will be for the Sixers.

“One’s an MVP and one’s one of the best scorers in the league in Beal,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough matchup and a tough challenge for me. We’re here for a reason and we’re looking forward to the matchup. A lot of respect to that team and even in that play-in game last night, they’re coming prepared.”

It will certainly be no easy task, but Philly should be up for it. Joel Embiid will be looking to continue his dominance, while Simmons will need to also pick it up offensively alongside the likes of Tobias Harris and Seth Curry as well.

Ultimately though, the Sixers must be able to slow down the brilliance of the Wizards in transition. It'll definitely be a key to victory.