
The Celtics don't know who they are playing yet in Round 1, but they have some idea of when and what network they'll be playing on.
The Boston Celtics don't know yet who they will be playing in Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs, but they have a slightly better idea of when they'll be playing and on what television network.
Here's what you need to know.
Opponent finalized on Wednesday
The Celtics went 56-26 in the regular season, earning the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They'll play either the Orlando Magic or the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, which begins on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The Magic finished eighth in the regular season standings while the 76ers were seventh. As a result, Philadelphia will host the play-in game on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET). The winner will move on to play the Celtics.
Broadcast information coming out
Some of the critical information for the first four games of the series was released late on Tuesday night.
Game 1: Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 2: Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET (Peacock)
Game 3: April 24 at 7 p.m. ET (Prime)
Game 4: April 26 at 7 p.m. ET (NBC)
Game 5: April 28
Game 6: April 30
Game 7: May 2
Certain frustrations here...
The hope is that the Celtics don't require seven games to dispel the No. 7 seed, but if they do, it's clearly frustrating that it will take nearly two full weeks to play the first round.
One of the biggest complaints among fans of the NBA is how long the playoffs actually take. The full playoffs might take more than two months to complete, making them double what you see in the NFL or in Major League Baseball.
Furthermore, fans are unlikely to be happy about the fragmented viewing schedule. The league has done a good job this season of maximizing its revenue and distribution channels, but that's come at a cost to the fan who now needs to buy multiple streaming services.
If you don't subscribe to Peacock or Amazon Prime and don't want to, then you are in trouble moving forward.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dribbles the ball past Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) during the first half at TD Garden. Gregory Fisher-Imagn ImagesIn other Celtics news
After suffering the torn Achilles in last years Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Knicks, Jayson Tatum played only 16 games this season.
The six-time All-Star averaged 21.8 ppg in those 16 games, also snagging 10 rebounds a contest and dishing out 5.3 assists. He played 32.6 minutes a night, but despite his limited availability, Tatum remains immensely popular among fans.
As noted by the NBA this week, Tatum had the seventh-best selling jersey this season, behind only Steph Curry (Warriors), Luke Doncic (Lakers), Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Victor Wembanyama (Spurs), LeBron James (Lakers) and, Anthony Edwards (T'Wolves). He was one spot ahead of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning NBA MVP.
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