Opinion: Why the 76ers and Rockets can still win their first round series

Joel Embiid (Google Images)

The first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs are taking shape, and there are two first round series I find very intriguing–one in the East and one in the West. The Eastern Series has the Philadelphia 76ers versus the Boston Celtics and the Western Series has the Houston Rockets versus the Los Angeles Lakers.

There is no doubt that the Celtics and Lakers have historic franchises. For decades they were the faces of the NBA and have combined to win 34 NBA Finals.

If you go by past history, the Celtics and Lakers should get through to the second round. However, it would not stun me if the 76ers and Rockets found a way to win their series. If Houston did win, it would be historic, as no team has ever won four consecutive games after losing the first three games of the series.

So why do the Rockets have a chance? It is because the Lakers do not have their best player in Luka Doncic, who is out with a hamstring injury. While the Lakers were able to win the first three games of the series thanks to 76 points from LeBron James, they have definitely missed Doncic the last two games, as the Rockets won game four easily 115-96, and then won game five 99-93 in southern California.

How good was Doncic this year? Well, he averaged 33.5 points per game.

The 76ers meanwhile, won game two of the series 111-97 as a 13.5 point underdog, and won game five Tuesday in Boston by a score of 113-97 to stay alive. The reason I think the 76ers have a chance to pull off the upset and series comeback here has been the excellent play from the starting five. Philadelphia’s starting five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Kelly Oubre Jr., Paul George and Joel Embiid, is a very formidable unit. In game five they combined for 88 points. If they continue their sharp play offensively and defensively (limited the Celtics to 11 fourth quarter points in game five), the Celtics could be in all sorts of trouble.