The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers by 32 points on Monday, the second time in eight days they have blown past Philadelphia by that margin. Boston now needs one more win to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the fifth straight season.
The sixers score was the latest sign of how far the Celtics have pulled ahead of the field in the East. They entered play Monday as the only team in the conference with a 3-1 series lead, while the New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers had all run into more resistance than expected in the first round.
That backdrop is part of why Boston is being treated as the favorite to win the Eastern Conference. The Celtics have the second-best title odds behind the Thunder, and their path looks even clearer after another one-sided win over Philadelphia. The teams met eight days earlier, when Boston also won by 32.
Dave Portnoy said Monday on Wake Up Barstool that he would be surprised not to see the Celtics in the Finals. He said the team is healthy and looks good, and added that Boston is a championship team that has already won a title. Portnoy also said the West is a far more serious challenge than the East, and said he would not be shocked if the Celtics beat OKC or San Antonio in a Finals matchup.
Boston is likely to try to close out the series at home on Tuesday, with the chance to finish off a first-round matchup that has been lopsided almost from the start. Philadelphia has now been beaten soundly twice, and the Celtics have left little doubt about who controls the series.
If Boston ends it Tuesday, the Celtics will move on with the kind of ease that has made them the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference playoffs so far. For the 76ers, the question is no longer whether they can keep pace. It is whether they can avoid another collapse by the end of the week.
