Event of the Day: Boston Celtics versus Philadelphia 76ers
Our event of the day is the NBA Playoffs second round matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers. This game held at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts is the first game of this exciting matchup between the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the Eastern Conference. While Boston may be the higher seed the team has gone through significant injury issues, losing their two best players for the playoffs, Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving. They struggled through their first round matchup against the seventh seeded Milwaukee Bucks team, winning the series in 7 games. The Sixers on the other hand are the hottest they have been all season, winning the last 15 games of the regular season before crushing the sixth seeded Miami Heat in 5 games.
The star players for both teams in the previous round were the 6’10” rookie point guard Ben Simmons and the veteran shooting guard JJ Redick who averaged 18.2 and 20 points respectively for Philly and the exciting point guard Terry Rozier and the technical Al Horford averaging 17.6 and 18.1 points for Boston. The Sixers clearly have an advantage in terms of star power and the PPG stats show it, with the Sixers averaging the most points in the playoffs this year at 114.2 PPG while the injury marred Celtics have been 10th with 102.4 PPG. The key for the Celtics to pull off the upset will be containing the Philadelphia superstars while remaining efficient on the offensive end with balanced scoring. Philadelphia’s key to victory on the other hand will be keeping composed under the national spotlight. Their team is full of young up and coming players with flamboyant personalities who have never played in the playoffs before. Overall this should be the first chapter of a great rivalry that should extend for many years to come and be an exciting start to the second round of the playoffs.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the Premier League matchup between Tottenham and Watford held at Wembley Stadium in London. This game has implications for both teams as Tottenham need to firm up their top 4 Champions League position and Watford need to stop any change of been sucked into the relegation conversation. The other key events scheduled for today include an MLB regular season matchup at Minute Maid Park between two of the top teams in the American league the Yankees and the Astros. There is also an array of Cricket fixtures with Country Championship Division One and Indian Premier League action. Also today there is a variety of other sporting events including the World Championships of both Snooker and Table Tennis and various ATP and WTA tennis events. Lastly, the NHL playoffs continue with riveting 2nd round matchups between the San Jose Sharks and Las Vegas Golden Knights, and the Boston Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Fixture
Photos by NBA