Sixers to Face Raptors in 1st Round of NBA Playoffs

With the Celtics win over the Memphis Grizzles on the final day of the regular season, the Sixers landed arguably their least desirable first-round matchup.

Philadelphia will face the Toronto Raptors in the best-of-seven opening round of the NBA playoffs. Game 1 will be Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia at 6 p.m. (on 97.3 ESPN).

The fourth-seeded Sixers drew the Raptors after the Celtics moved from the four seed to the two seed by virtue their win against Memphis. The Bucks (won season series) and Celtics both finished 51-31, but Boston held the tiebreaker by virtue of a better record against Eastern Conference playoff teams.

While the Sixers are the betting favorite, the Raptors might just be their toughest matchup. Toronto won the season series 3-1 in their four-game series in the regular season.

One big story line in the series will be Matisse Thybulle, who admitted on Sunday night that he is not vaccinated, meaning he will not be available when the team travels for road games in Toronto for the entire series.

You can listen to the Sixers-Raptors series with Tom McGinnis calling all the play-by-play action on 97.3 ESPN, South Jersey Sixers station.