The Philadelphia 76ers gained more than just confidence Wednesday night.
The 76ers extended their win streak to six by virtue of a 118-115 victory over the Boston Celtics at Wells Fargo Center. A win over a division rival always is important, but the timing of this particular matchup provided added significance for the Sixers.
During Thursday’s edition of “First Things First” on FOX Sports 1, co-host Nick Wright explained why its latest victory over Boston was “enormous” for Philadelphia.
One has to imagine the 76ers would prefer to avoid squaring off against the C’s in the playoffs for as long as possible. The Celtics have won all but four of their last 25 tilts with the Sixers, which include last season’s lopsided Eastern Conference semifinals matchup between the two teams.
That said, the Celtics might not be upset with how the postseason is shaping up. As it stands, Boston would face the banged-up Indiana Pacers in the first round. While the Pacers currently own a one-game lead over the Celtics for fourth place in the East, that quickly could be flipped given the two sides still have two meetings left in the regular season. And if the C’s advance to the East semifinals, the case could be made they’d rather face the Milwaukee Bucks than the Toronto Raptors.
The 2019 NBA playoffs are set to get underway April 13.
