The Washington Wizards defeated the Indaina Pacers pretty easily Thursday night in the 8-seed NBA play-in game and as a result, they now draw a first-round matchup against the best in the Eastern Conference in the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Almost nobody is going to be expecting the Wizards to put up a good fight against the 76ers in this series, especially given that the Sixers are one of the favorites to win the championship this year, but Washington is red hot right now and a team that nobody wants to play, including the 76ers. 

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Indiana would have been a much easier opponent for Philly to play given their inconsistent play and key players being out due to injuries, but now, the Sixers are going to have to fight night-in and night-out against a hungry Wizards team. 

This series could very much be over in 4 or 5 games, but every single game is definitely going to be exciting due to the fact that the Wizards have both Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal. These two have been having some remarkable performances together and have carried the Wizards to the playoffs, so do not count them out just yet because they thrive in that “underdog” role! 

So does Washington actually have a chance to beat the 76ers and what should we expect during this first-round matchup? Let’s take a look at my four bold predictions for this first-round matchup between the 76ers and the Wizards.