4 vs. 5 Seed Matchups
The Philadelphia 76ers, by way of tiebreakers, landed in the No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers are a dangerous team regardless of seed number since they paired James Harden with Joel Embiid ahead of the trade deadline. With those two on the court, their offensive rating is second best in the NBA with duos who played at least 600 minutes together.
But, their first-round matchup is a difficult draw against the Toronto Raptors. Toronto will utilize unique defenses throughout the series to try and get the ball out of Embiid’s hands and have his teammates beat them. That is partly because of personnel, as the Raptors do not have a big man to contain Embiid.
The biggest storyline of this series, and any that Toronto plays in, is the vaccine mandates in Canada. Any unvaccinated player is ineligible to play in Toronto, presenting a unique advantage. The Raptors will take full advantage, overcoming some big Embiid games as his teammates ultimately aren’t up to the task for the entire series.
In the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks earned the No. 4 seed but are coming into the postseason hampered. Star point guard, Luka Doncic, has been officially ruled out for Game 1 because of a calf strain suffered in the season finale. His status will be updated daily, but there is a serious doubt that he will suit up in Game 2.
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That is a huge break for the Utah Jazz, who need as much help as possible to succeed in the postseason. While they have been one of the most consistent regular-season teams in the league, that has not translated to the postseason.
Last season, they were given a golden opportunity when Kawhi Leonard injured his knee in their second-round series against the Clippers. Utah went on to lose the next two games and get eliminated. This series will be much of the same as Jason Kidd will show his coaching mettle and find a combination that works until Doncic can get healthy.
