As round one of the playoffs are ready to get underway, we need to look more closely at the 1^st round matchup between the #1 seed Philadelphia 76ers and the #8 seed Washington Wizards.

The path each team took was quite different.  Philly pretty much has been on cruise control all year, dispatching of most challengers with ease.  Philly did have the 2^nd highest DIFF in the league.  They tried to run away with the best record in the NLL, but the Bucks did manage to string a 17 game win streak together, just so they could tie the 76ers record, but still lost the tiebreaker.

Washington’s journey wasn’t quite as easy.  They really fought hard to get into the playoffs, including a mid-season roster overhaul.  In all, there were 19 players that logged minutes for the Wiz, but are no longer on their roster.  They were still under .500 to end the year, but the next closest team was still 3 wins worse.  Washington really made some splashes, trading away 2 elite veterans and replacing them with a rising star and a power forward with loads of potential.  Unfortunately for Washington, they are still an unfinished product.  Were they playing in the West, they could possibly have upset one of the middle seeds, but in the East, only the 7^th and 8^th seeds really have any soft spots.

Injury Report:

Philly

          C – Rudy Gobert

          PG – Isaiah Taylor

Washington

          SG – Gary Payton II

There’s only 1 player that makes a difference on the injury report and that’s Rudy.  He’s the starting center for the Sixers, so his absence will force Philly to move players around to compensate.

Matchups:

PG

Ish Smith vs Damian Lillard

Look, I get it, Ish is a serviceable PG, but he’s no Lillard.  Not even close.  This matchup will be dominated by Damian.  Even Clarkson, Lillard’s replacement, is better than Ish.  Washington’s biggest lineup hole is here.  Expect Darko to address this position in the offseason, as this is one of the better PG drafts upcoming.  But I digress, the real story will be how badly Lillard embarrasses Ish.

Advantage: Philly

SG

Klay Thompson vs CJ McCollum

Well, they are both great scorers, but Klay is a better two way player and he will have a 4-5 inch height advantage.  CJ may be a great scorer, but Klay is also a lock down defender.  The Sixers will definitely need CJ to be more of a facilitator in this series and let his teammates shine.  If CJ goes shot happy, that would play directly into Washington’s hands.  Expect Klay to shine for Washington as the leading scorer for his team, potentially the leading scorer of the series.

 

Advantage:  Washington

SF

Andre Roberson vs Kawhi Leonard

Andre is a disappointing offensive player that is really trying to become a 3 and D, but only shows up with the D currently.  Kawhi…. Well, what can we say?  He is a top level 3 and D player, someone that poor Andre is attempting to emulate.  Kawhi has exceptional athleticism for a SF and will be giving anyone lined up against him fits.

Advantage:  Philly

PF

Julius Randle vs David Lee

You can’t take the pre-Wiz Randle into account, as he has been a changed man since leaving Utah.  He’s now a double double machine and will be one of Darko’s core guys moving forward.  Lee is a reserve player thrust into a starting role with Favors having to slide to C to replace the injured Gobert.  He’s older and slower, but don’t let him get an open jumper, cuz he’s like that old man at the local Y, just never seems to miss.  Still, Lee will have his hands full with Julius, who will expectedly be more than the Sixers vet can handle.  We expect to see changes later in the week, with Holmes possibly starting as a defensive counter for Randle.

Advantage:  Washington

C

Roy Hibbert vs Derrick Favors

Roy has always been a NLL favorite, mostly for his great badges.  That has not changed, although his overall stats have drastically improved playing for Darko’s Wiz.  Unfortunately, he will match up against the much more athletic Favors.  Favors hasn’t quite found his comfort level with the Sixers yet, but he’s still a top level big man.  He’s been shooting less and focusing on rebounding, but with a team like Philly has, he doesn’t need to be as aggressive with the ball.  His only disadvantage will be his height mismatch, as he’s giving up a good 4 to 5 inches to big Roy.  The saving grace, Favors should be able to run circles around one of the slowest players in the NLL.

Advantage: Philly

Bench

Washington has mostly older players like Nelson, Miller, Splitter and Bass, but Jeff Green and Biyombo are the two players to watch for the Wiz.  Biyombo is a great defensive player with excellent rebounding.  Green is a great slasher with some range.  Sure, Miller and Meeks can drain 3s, but neither can create their own shot.  Bass has a great jumper, but is a defensive liability.

Philly has some talent coming off the bench.  Redick, Clarkson, Bogdanovic are all great shooters.  Holmes is pure athleticism and rebounding.  Normally, Lee would also come off the bench, but with the injury to the starting C, his need to step into the starting lineup will affect the bench some.

Advantage: Philly (barely)

Prediction:

Philly will win this series 4-2, but the Wiz will make their presence felt and Darko will have VT sweat out a game or 2.  I expect every game will be closer than expected, unless Gobert comes back soon, then Darko’s lack of quality big men depth will be highlighted.

 

Series MVP:

Damian Lillard will step up and lead his team to the 2^nd round with a matchup against one of their biggest rivals.  Will it be Boston or Cleveland?  Lillard will have a field day, with neither Smith nor Nelson able to contain him.  Expect to also see Favors be a more integral part of the offense, possibly stealing one or two Player of the Game honors from the Sixers superstar.