The Celtics might have looked ahead to their series against the 76ers one game too early – dropping a Game 5 against the Hawks that they should have won – but now everyone can put Trae Young in the rear view and examine the next opponent.
The Sixers promise to be a much more interesting test. In the regular season, the Hawks had the 19th-best net rating in the NBA and the league’s 22nd-best defense. The 76ers trailed only the Celtics and the Cavaliers in net rating – owners of the third-best offense and the eighth-best defense.