On April 11, Beijing time, the Bucks lost to the Cavaliers, the Raptors lost to the Knicks, the Celtics defeated the Grizzlies, the 76ers defeated the Pistons, and the ranking of the 2nd-4th place in the East was finally finalized! In the end, the Celtics were No. 2, the Bucks were No. 3, the 76ers were No. 4, and the Raptors had previously locked in No. 5. That means two sets of matches have been finalized in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs: the No. 3 Bucks will play against the No. 6 Bulls, and the No. 4 76ers will play against the No. 5 Raptors. As for the No. 1 Heat and No. 2 Celtics will wait for the results of the playoffs to decide their first-round opponents.
76ers(4) vs Raptors(5)
Four regular-season meetings: 76ers, 1 win, 3 losses
For the 76ers, there are certain hidden dangers in encountering the Raptors. Most importantly, due to Toronto's epidemic regulations, players who are not vaccinated will not be able to play in Toronto. Sable within the 76ers has not been vaccinated and will not be able to play away from home against the Raptors if he refuses to vaccinate before the first round of the playoffs. That's a big loss for the 76ers' outside defense.
Although Sable's basic stats are not eye-catching, he is the number one gate of the 76ers' outside defense, mainly responsible for keeping an eye on the opposing side's arrow figures. In this series, the 76ers have home-court advantage, but the strength of the opposing Raptors should not be underestimated.
The 76ers and raptors have met four times this season, winning only 1 and losing 3. If Sable can't play away from home, the 76ers who are aiming for the championship could be eliminated in the first round. Embiid played three of those four games and averaged 29 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, but shot 46.6 percent from the field and 20 percent from three-point range, significantly less than the season average (49.9 percent + 37.1 percent).
Harden played against the Raptors three times this season, winning the one he played for the Nets, Harden had 28 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists, and lost both games after joining the 76ers, with Ha averaging 15 points, 6.5 rebounds and 11.5 assists, shooting 33.3% from the field and 12.5% from three-point range. 76ers hit the Raptors, it's really not easy to fight!
Bucks (3) vs Bulls (6)
Four regular season meetings: The Bucks are 4 wins and 0 losses
Compared to the 76ers, the Pressure on the Bucks in the first round is really not much. The third-placed Bucks will face the sixth-ranked Bulls. And in the 4 regular season meetings this season, the Bucks swept the Bulls, a win-win 59 points! With a clear head-to-head record and the Bucks having home-court advantage, the first round of elimination of the Bulls should be very promising.
The Bulls have been playing poorly against the top-ranked teams this season and are considered a pseudo-strong team. If they want to topple the Bucks in the playoffs, they have to rely on more people to play. In four games with the Bucks this season, DeRozan has played, averaging 31.3 points per game, shooting 47.4%, which is not bad, but to beat the Bucks, a team that won last season' championship, DeRozan is obviously not enough.
The Heat, who are number one in the East, are currently a four-choice option because they are going to play against the eighth team in the East. The Nets, Cavaliers, Hornets and Hawks all have the potential to be this team. The second-place Celtics in the East are either-or, and the nets and Cavaliers play-off winners are the Green Army's first-round opponents.