Boston will face a much harder challenge against Philadelphia

The Philadelphia 76ers will present a new kind of challenge to the Boston Celtics

Well, that last series lasted quite a while. It was the perfect example of home court advantage, as the home team won in every single game. Luckily for the Boston Celtics, they had one extra home game compared to the Milwaukee Bucks, so their fans were able to push them past the threshold and into the 2nd round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs.

Only this time, the Celtics will be up against a much tougher opponent and, in fact, a division rival, in the Philadelphia 76ers.

If the Celtics are going to lose a series in the Eastern Conference, it’s this one. That last statement is definitely not a popular opinion among Celtics fans, but when you look at the talent-level inside Philly right now, it’s unbelievable.

The league hasn’t seen a team this young and dominant in a while. Now, the Celtics may be young and dominant as well, but it’s the process that Philly has been preaching for the last two or three years that really grabs people’s attention.

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Regardless of the fans and their hashtags, it’s players like Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, Dario Saric and Markelle Fultz that make this team so scary to play. Combine all of that young force with veteran experience like J.J. Redick and Ersan Ilyasova and you get one great team.

The worst part of this situation for the Celtics is that Philadelphia got hot right before they entered the Playoffs, so this team is not going to be easy for Boston.

And, this may seem a bit repetitive, but the Celtics are without their stars in Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. Sure, they may still have great players like Jaylen Brown, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier, but the fact that they are without their superstar talent will truly hurt them in this series.

They may still have the home court advantage, but it won’t be an easy task stopping the young guns of the 76ers.

All in all, the Celtics should be proud of themselves for continuously battling throughout the season and being the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference. This team has shown that they are still amazing without their superstars and that with them, they can be a championship contender.

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Only time will tell to see what happens in this upcoming series, but it shouldn’t be too surprising to Celtics fans if Philly knocks them out in six or seven games.

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