Celtics vs 76ers Series Picks, Predictions, Schedule & Odds

• The Philadelphia 76ers will meet the Boston Celtics in Round 1 of the 2026 NBA playoffs
• These teams splite their regular season series at two wins apiece
• See the Celtics vs 76ers series odds, picks, and predictions below

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Atlantic Division rivals will square off in Round 1 of the 2026 NBA playoff bracket, as the 7th-seeded Philadelphia 76ers (45-37, 22-19 away) meet the Boston Celtics (56-26, 30-11 home).

Boston crushed the idea of this being a gap season, surprising everyone (but themselves) with a 50+ win season and a legit threat in the NBA Championship odds.

Philly is about as frisky a first round opponent one can face, but one key injury might derail those chances (more on this below).

BOS Celtics vs PHI 76ers Series Odds

How good are the Celtics? They’ve rebuilt themselves on the fly, and enter the playoffs with a healthy Jayson Tatum — who looks recovered from his Achilles injury — playing a secondary role to all-NBA star Jaylen Brown.

The books have supreme confidence in Boston rolling, pegging them as -900 favorites to advance. Taking Philly to pull off the major upset offers nice +600 odds.

The value lurks in the 76ers’ ability to extend the series. If they can push this to six games, it will pay out on the spread at +155, and taking the Over on the series total pays out at +165.

Odds from DraftKings on April 15, 2026. New customers can claim a DraftKings promo code to get a bonus to bet on the NBA Playoffs.

BOS vs PHI Playoff Series Schedule

This series gets underway Sunday, with Games 1 and 2 at TD Gardens in Beantown, before the scene shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4. There are dates in place in the event this series goes past four games, but those will be determined as the series progresses.

Spurs vs Trail Blazers Regular-Season Results

It’s hard to tell what information is actually meaningful in the regular season series that was split 2-2. Tatum didn’t play a single minute against the 76ers in the regular seaon, while Embiid suited up for just half the games.

The Under did hit three times, and the margin of victory in three of the four matchups was two points or less. These teams played each other tough all year.

Celtics vs 76ers Prediction

• Celtics -2.5 games (-190 at DraftKings)

As of press time, it appears that Philly big man Joel Embiid (appendix) is out for the start of the series, and following the timeline for recovery from an appendectomy, the Sixers would probably need to advance out of Round 1 for Embiid to make a legitimate return to the lineup.

That’s a big blow for the Sixers, who have already shifted the gears to this being Tyrese Maxey’s team, with Paul George adding veteran savvy and VJ Edgecombe bringing that youthful energy.

Still, they could desperately use Embiid’s presence down low on both ends of the court, and to fight hungry big men Neemias Queta and Luka Garza on the glass. Even if he’s not MVP-level Embid, he’s a major upgrade on Andre Drummond and Adem Bona.

Boston is one of the most complete teams in the league, and they get it done on both ends of the floor, ranking second in the league in offensive rating, and fourth in defensive rating. Only the San Antonio Spurs sport that kind of excellence on both ends of the floor.

The Celtics’ big move at the trade deadline was Chicago big man Nikola Vucevic, and he’ll hopefully be ready for the playoffs as he was dealing with a finger injury.

But their pick addition was always going to be Tatum, and his return, while potentially messing with rotations and chemistry, means the C’s get an all-NBA talent to go with a team that was doggedly determined to not falter.

Tatum played 16 games and got to 32.6 minutes per contest. His rhythm is still coming along: shooting 4.1% from the field and 32.9% from three — both easily the lowest splits of his career — but a supercharged second fiddle to Brown should work just fine.

They shouldn’t have much problem taking down Philly quickly.