The Boston Celtics begin their NBA Playoff run on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden. Tip-off time is 1 p.m. ET, and this marks the 23rd time that the Celtics have played the 76ers in the playoffs, the most frequent playoff matchup in NBA history.

As the No. 2 seed, the Celtics certainly enter as the favorite, and they enter as one of the favorites to get to the NBA Finals.

In fact, former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins said that he likes the Celtics to come out of the Eastern Conference. He made the comments to the 'Pat McAfee Show' on Friday afternoon.

"I have the Boston Celtics coming out of the Eastern Conference..

They have the best duo in the Eastern Conference in Tatum and Brown..

They have real structure on that team"

If the Celtics are able to get to the NBA Finals, it will mark the the third time in five years that they have done so.

Boston made the NBA Finals in 2021-22, losing to the Golden State Warriors. They got to the Finals again in 2023-24, beating the Dallas Mavericks, who were led at the time by Luka Doncic.

Perkins's claims about the Celtics duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are not unreasonable. Both players have been All-NBA selections and both players have been to at least five All-Star Games. With Tatum recovering most of the season from a torn Achilles suffered last May, Brown put up a career-best season in 2025-26, averaging 28.7 ppg. He's going to get serious MVP consideration.

With a healthy Tatum, the Celtics will have the ability to unlock even more than they showed in a 56-26 regular season. He averaged more than 21 ppg upon his return.

A 14-year veteran of the Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans, Perkins spent parts of eight seasons in Boston, winning a title in the 2008 campaign.

The 41-year-old Texas native averaged 5.4 ppg for his career with 5.8 rebounds and one assist. He shot 53 percent from the floor.

He started all 25 playoff games in the Celtics title run in 2007-08. He averaged 6.6 ppg in those playoffs. The Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals. That was the 17th championship in franchise history.

Sundays' game will air on ABC. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday night and will be shown on Peacock.

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