Everything you need to know for Sixers vs. Wizards first-round series in 2021 NBA Playoffs

The No. 1 seed Philadelphia 76ers will meet the No. 8 seed Washington Wizards in the first round of the 2021 NBA playoffs. The Wizards beat the Pacers in the final game of the East play-in tournament to secure the final seed in the conference.

Behind MVP finalist Joel Embiid and star guard Ben Simmons, the 76ers were never truly threatened for the conference’s top seed. After years of struggling to build on regular season success, Philadelphia appears to have a great path to make a deep run this year. Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle will be key contributors to take pressure of Embiid and Simmons. Head coach Doc Rivers has found a way to make this group work well together and his wealth of postseason experience can only help Philly.

The Wizards have a dynamic backcourt in Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal. Both players are coming off dominant showings in the win over the Pacers and both are capable of taking over a series. Westbrook and Simmons have similar styles of play and it’ll be interesting to see the defensive tactics they will employ against each other. Beal will have to deal with a great defender in Thybulle on the perimeter. Rui Hachimura and Robin Lopez will need to be factors for the Wizards to pull off the upset here.

We’re going to track the results and provide everything you need to know for the series, including odds, betting and fantasy basketball picks and injury reports. We’ll also add in the schedule when that’s released with TV info and game times.

Sixers vs. Wizards schedule

Game 1, Sunday, May 23: Sixers 125, Wizards 118
Game 2, Wednesday, May 26: Sixers 120, Wizards 95
Game 3, Saturday, May 29: Sixers 132, Wizards 103
Game 4, Monday, May 31: Wizards 122, Sixers 114
Game 5, Wednesday, June 2: Sixers 129, Wizards 112
Game 6, Friday, June 4: Sixers vs. Wizards*
Game 7, Sunday, June 6: Wizards vs. Sixers*