Sixers Playoff Schedule: Dates, Times, Opponents, TV Channel

After a one-year hiatus, the Sixers are officially going back to the playoffs.

They have the prize of that gap year, No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe, to thank for that.

In his postseason debut, Edgecombe finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Sixers' 109-97 win over the Orlando Magic in their play-in tournament game Wednesday. Tyrese Maxey scored a team-high 31, Kelly Oubre Jr. had 19, and Andre Drummond added a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double in 31 minutes off the bench.

The Sixers clinched the No. 7 seed in the East by beating the Magic. That means they're heading back to the playoffs to face an all-too-familiar foe in the first round.

Sixers' playoff schedule

The good news is that Maxey and Edgecombe are about to get at least one playoff series' worth of playoff experience. The bad news is that's all they're likely to get.

The Sixers drew the Boston Celtics in the first round, who recently welcomed Jayson Tatum back from the torn Achilles that he suffered in last year's playoffs. While he's still nowhere near Peak Tatum, he's going to be a handful for the Joel Embiid-less Sixers.

Here's a look at when each game is happening and which of the NBA's 15 TV partners are airing it.

Game 1: at Boston on Sunday, April 19 at 1 p.m. ET (ABC)
Game 2: at Boston on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. ET (Peacock/NBC Sports Network)
Game 3: at Philadelphia on Friday, April 24 at 7 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
Game 4: at Philadelphia on Sunday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET (NBC/Peacock)
Game 5 (if necessary): at Boston on Tuesday, April 28 at TBD
Game 6 (if necessary): at Philadelphia on Thursday, April 30 at TBD
Game 7 (if necessary): at Boston on Saturday, May 2 at TBD

If Embiid is able to return at some point during this series after last week, the Sixers might have a chance of making some noise. Unfortunately, it's unclear whether he'll be able to do so.

Despite their win over the Magic on Wednesday, the Sixers are likely drawing dead in this series without Embiid. The Celtics are a major level up from Orlando.

Although this was supposed to be a gap year for the Celtics, it proved to be anything but. Fueled by career years from Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard, the Celtics finished with 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the East.

In mid-January, the Celtics were hovering around 10 games above .500. By the end of the month, they caught fire and never looked back. They went 30-10 over their final 40 games.

While the Magic were structurally similar to the Sixers—couldn't stay healthy all year, can't shoot a lick—the Celtics are polar opposites. They ranked third in the league in three-pointers made and fourth in three-point shooting percentage this season. The Sixers were 22nd and 21st in those categories, respectively.

Entering the season, the Celtics' center position also looked like a glaring liability. That was before Neemias Queta established himself . Luka Garza also played well behind him, and the Celtics acquired Nikola Vučević at the trade deadline to round out their frontcourt.

Without Embiid, the Sixers are down to Drummond and Adem Bona at center. Bona drew the start against Orlando and played well defensively in his 16 minutes, but Drummond played far more. Aside from Drummond, Quentin Grimes and Dominick Barlow were the only two other players who saw minutes off the bench.

Aside from Pritchard, the Celtics don't have big-name players coming off their bench. They're far more devoid of star power than they were two years ago when they won the championship. But what they lack in high-end talent, they make up for in depth.

Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh all have the potential to help swing a game. The Sixers will need more from the supporting cast around Maxey, Edgecombe and Paul George to keep pace. Four points from Grimes won't cut it moving forward.

The Celtics opened the series as resounding favorites, which should come as little surprise. Barring a surprise Embiid return, it would be a minor miracle for the Sixers to extend this series beyond April 28.

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Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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