Sixers vs. Celtics Game 1: Everything you need to know before tip off

Game 1 is Sunday at 1 PM at TD Garden. The Sixers are a seven seed with no Joel Embiid going into Boston against the two seed at full strength. Every single person in the national media has already written this team off which was expected, but here’s where things actually stand heading into this series.

Sixers vs Celtics – Sunday – 1 PM

a familiar foe. @Toyota pic.twitter.com/1b6mMLiHGq

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) April 19, 2026

The Injury Situation

Embiid is out indefinitely with appendectomy recovery. That’s not changing for Game 1 and probably not changing for Game 2. I’m still eyeing a potential return for Game 3 in Philly on April 24th but that’s just me being optimistic and there’s been zero indication from the team that a targeted return date exists.

Everyone else on both sides is available. Maxey is playing with a taped-up right pinky finger that is clearly not 100 percent and has been affecting his jumper and Jayson Tatum is set to play his 17th game since returning from a ruptured Achilles.

Boston Is Good. Nobody Is Pretending Otherwise.

Since starting 5-7, the Celtics have gone 51-19. They rank second in offensive rating and fourth in defensive rating outside of garbage time over those 70 games.

Jaylen Brown is a five-time All-Star. Tatum is a six-time All-Star averaging 21.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists since his return. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are still there from the 2024 championship team.

Joe Mazzulla has a 238-90 record as head coach. They were third in the league in three-point frequency and they can also hurt you inside the arc. Brown and Pritchard torched the Sixers in the mid-range back on Halloween to build a big first-half lead.

This is a legitimate contender. Nobody is denying that. The Sixers don’t need to pretend they’re underdogs because they actually are underdogs. The question is whether they can be dangerous underdogs.

Why the Sixers Have a Shot

The Celtics and Sixers split the regular season series 2-2 and the first three games were all extremely close. On opening night, Maxey and VJ Edgecombe combined for 74 points and the Sixers stormed back to win in Boston. That game matters. It proves this team can compete in that building against this roster when things are clicking.

Paul George didn’t play in any of the four regular season matchups. He’s back now after serving a 25-game suspension and has looked like a legitimate star in his 10 games back, averaging 21.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game.

If the Sixers are going to upset the Celtics, George has to be the guy who takes pressure off Maxey. Score in isolation. Knock down catch-and-shoot threes. Guard Brown or Tatum without getting into foul trouble. Provide the veteran steadiness that nobody else on this roster can give them.

That’s a lot to ask but George has shown since coming back that he’s healthy and capable of playing at that level.

The Celtics also relied on their half-court offense more than any other team this season. Slowest pace in the league. Dead last in transition frequency.

That’s a small silver lining for the Sixers because if this series stays in the halfcourt, it gives Maxey and Edgecombe a chance to push tempo and create easy buckets in transition. If the Sixers can force Boston into a faster game, they can hang.

The Concerns Are Real

Defensive rebounding is a massive problem. The Sixers were 27th in the league in defensive rebounding rate. The Celtics were fifth in offensive rebounding rate.

Neemias Queta went off for a career-high 27 points, 17 rebounds including 10 offensive, and three blocks against Drummond and the Sixers back on March 1st. He’s a true seven-footer and an elite athlete.

Without Embiid, Drummond and Bona have to be significantly better against him on the glass or this series is going to get ugly in a hurry.

Maxey’s pinky is a real concern that shouldn’t be brushed aside. He shot 11-for-25 against Orlando including 3-for-9 from three. He wasn’t reluctant to fire but the efficiency wasn’t there and that finger is the reason. Against a defense as good as Boston’s, Maxey can’t afford to be anything less than surgical.

The three-man bench from the play-in game is not sustainable for a full series. Justin Edwards needs to be in the rotation. He’s a competitive wing defender who can knock down open jumpers and isn’t afraid of big moments.

He made his first eight field goals against the Celtics back on November 11th. The Sixers are going to need that kind of depth contribution to hang in a seven-game series.

And then there’s Jordan Walsh, who is going to be a problem for Maxey. Walsh defended Maxey in that November 11th game and held him to 1-for-9. He’s tenacious with a 7-2 wingspan and Mazzulla is going to use him as a weapon in this series. Maxey has to figure out how to attack that matchup or find ways to get Walsh switched off him.

The History Is Brutal

During the Embiid era, the Sixers have lost to the Celtics in 2018 (4-1), 2020 (4-0), and 2023 (4-3). Their last series win over Boston was 44 years ago.

The 2023 series still stings because the Sixers had real chances to close it out in Game 6 and then played an inexcusable third quarter in Game 7. James Harden had a 45-point Game 1 and a 42-point overtime Game 4. They were right there. And they blew it.

This is a different team with different players but the history is the history. The Sixers haven’t beaten Boston in a playoff series since 1982. At some point that has to change and this group has as much fight as any Sixers team I’ve watched in recent memory.

Nobody expects the Sixers to win this series.

The Celtics are deeper, more experienced, and have their full roster while the Sixers are missing their best player.

This team just fought through a play-in game, has a backcourt in Maxey and Edgecombe that can explode on any given night, and has Paul George back healthy and looking like the player we thought we were getting when he came to Philly.

Steal Game 1 in Boston. That’s the mission. Everything else comes after that.

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