Here we go! Celtics vs. 76ers! Two teams that have a playoff history of meeting 11 times since 1964 with some memorable battles. This is set to be a can’t miss series and Celtics 24/7 has you covered. Check out the deals for games 1 and 2 and keep coming back for ticket updates.

CELTICS VS 76ERS: GET YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Game 1:

• Ticket prices for Saturday’s game 1 start at $47.
• There are currently over 180 seats available for $60 or less, all of them located in TiqZone 300′s Corner & Baseline. These seats are selling from anywhere between 31% and 51% below market price.
• In 300′s center there are 18 seats available for $70 or less, ranging from 41% to 53% below market value.
• In the 100′s levels prices start at $97, and there are over 100 seats available in the lower levels for $140 or less ranging from 8% to 35% below market price.
• For those not too worried about price and just want their tickets in their hands as quickly as possible there are 75 instant delivery eTickets available, with prices ranging from $53-$157 per ticket.

Game 2:

• Prices for game 2 start at $45.
• Nearly 300 seats are available for less than $60, once again all located in 300′s Corner & Baseline.
• In 300′s center there are a handful of seats available for less than $80, ranging from 21% to 41% below market value.
• 100+ lower level seats available for $150 or less, ranging from 58% to 71% below market value.
• Very limited amount of eTickets available for game 2, from $124-$168.

Picture from ESPN.com

Coming off the impressive Game 4 win last night, you would think the last thing a Celtics fan would want to talk about is the draft, right? I am not looking forward to the off season just yet as I think we have a legitimate shot to go to the Finals this year, but if Chad Ford and other so-called experts can release version after version of their mock drafts during the playoffs, then I can too!

This will be updated at least once more before the actual draft on June 28th. If you want to take a look at the first version of my mock, just click here. It was just a quick-pick version without any description as to why I mocked players where. It was also before the deadline to declare for the NBA draft, so much has changed since then. Let’s take a look at how I believe the first round will play out this year.

1. Anthony Davis – F, Kentucky

The consensus No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, Anthony Davis gives the Bobcats a dynamic player to add to their already young roster. Pairing him up with Bismack Biyombo will give them a great defensive duo in the paint, but will he be able to develop his offensive game to the point where he can be a true franchise changer? Some say he is a Tim Duncan-like prospect. I disagree with that 100%. Others say he will be better than Blake Griffin. I think that’s a good place to start a discussion.

2. Bradley Beal – G, Florida

A lot of people have mocked Michael Kidd-Gilchrist here for the Wizards, but I think the end choice is Bradley Beal. MKG’s defense is top-notch, at least at the college level, and his motor is always running on full-speed, but the Wizards could use an elite scorer to pair with John Wall. Beal is no slouch on defense, either, and can also handle the rock in a pinch.

3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – F, Kentucky

I wanted to mock Andre Drummond here, but I’ll settle on MKG for now. Outside of point guard, this team needs upgrades at every position. With that said, I believe the Cavaliers will take the best player available instead of taking a big man that will take a few years to develop.

4. Andre Drummond – C, Connecticut

The best center prospect will be heading to New Orleans. Drummond brings elite athleticism for a player his size and can be a good defensive player from the get-go. With that said, his offense is light years away from being a factor at the NBA level. He had a bit of Houdini in his only collegiate season with some disappearing acts at times.

5. Thomas Robinson – F, Kansas

If there were a point guard worth taking this high, I would put them here. Since there isn’t, Thomas Robinson is the choice to step in next to Demarcus Cousins down low. Robinson is a hard worker and relentless scorer. He lacks prototypical height, but he makes up for it with his athleticism and determination.

6. Harrison Barnes – F, North Carolina

Remember how good this team was a couple years back? They had a young core of Brandon Roy, Greg Oden and Lamarcus Aldridge and were he sexy pick to win the West. Now they are fully planted in the lottery and with two picks in the first eleven, could add some solid pieces to this roster. Harrison Barnes doesn’t fit a need as he fills he same position as Nicolas Batum, but there are no point guards or big men worth taking at this point.

The Blazers own this pick due to the deal that sent Gerald Wallace to the Nets. This pick would stay with New Jersey if it lands in the top-3. The trade also hinders my ability to use the Nets’ new logo in my mock.

7. Perry Jones – F, Baylor

Doesn’t this just seem like a pick the Warriors would make? With no legitimate center on the board, the Warriors take the player with the most upside in Perry Jones. He’s got all the physical tools, but his drive just doesn’t seem to be there. Can Mark Jackson get the most out of this kid? I was tempted to give the Warriors Moe Harkless because of the St. John’s connection, but it’s too high for him here.

8. Jeremy Lamb – G, Connecticut

Lamb was a star his freshman season as he won a national title with Kemba Walker. His sophomore season wasn’t as promising. Scouts say he doesn’t have the fire to demand the ball as a go-to guy, which is exactly what Toronto could use right now. They also need a legitimate shooting threat on the wing besides Andrea Bargnani, so Lamb gets the nod here.

9. Jared Sullinger – F, Ohio State

The Pistons could use an imposing force in the middle to allow Greg Monroe to slide over to the power forward spot, but that player is no longer on the board. Sullinger will add a scorer down low as well as an upgrade in the rebounding department. The people of Detroit will love his blue-collar game.

10. Kendall Marshall – G, North Carolina

This would cap off a great draft for the Hornets. They sorely lack a true center worth grooming and a point guard with the departure of Chris Paul. Kendall Marshall is the best pure point guard I have seen in the college ranks for a long time. His offense is close to non-existant, but his court vision is top-notch. Assuming the Hornets retain restricted free agent Eric Gordon, they would have a great young nucleus to build around.

11. Tyler Zeller – C, North Carolina

The Blazers grabbed one Tar Heel with their first pick and secure their second one here. Zeller would give them a polished big man that plays good defense and has some nifty moves in the post, especially his hook over the shoulder.

12. John Henson – F, North Carolina

With Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings on the same team, there aren’t many more shots to go around. With Henson, the Bucks get one of the best defenders in college basketball. Henson is freakishly long and alters twice as many shots as he blocks. He has a developing jumper that is pretty consistent out to about 12 feet. He would be a good defensive player off the bench next season for the Bucks.

13. Austin Rivers – G, Duke

The Suns are in disarray. Steve Nash is leaving and there is not a single player on the team worth paying money to watch. Austin Rivers brings a sort-of star quality to the Suns. Sure he didn’t live up to the hype in his one season at Duke, but who could have? Rivers’ one-on-one game will translate better at the NBA level, but if he doesn’t fix that jump shot (his elbow constantly flies way out away from his chest), his offensive game will be inconsistent at best.

14. Damian Lillard – G, Weber State

I am only mocking Lillard here because I just cannot see him falling lower than this. Doesn’t mean that the Rockets will take him, just that I see No. 14 being his floor in the draft.

15. Arnett Moultrie – F, Mississippi State

Moultrie is a big body with very good athletic ability. He’s a great scorer and can do it with his back to the basket or with the face-up game. The UTEP transfer shined in his one season at Mississippi State, even though they ended up missing the tournament. He’s got the size to play center as well.

16. Meyers Leonard – C, Illinois

The Rockets could use some youth at the center position as Marcus Camby and Samuel Dalembert aren’t getting any younger. Unfortunately, I think Leonard is at least two years away from being a contributer at this level. But, since you can’t teach height, he’ll get a look here and probably earlier.

17. Terrence Ross – G, Washington

After a disappointing postseason where the Mavs got swept by the Thunder, almost all of the roster is a free agent this coming summer. Dirk is calling for superstar help and Deron Williams is said to be 50-50 about signing in Dallas. Terrence Ross would give this team a young, dynamic scorer on the wing to play off the two stars.

18. Dion Waiters – G, Syracuse

Dion Waiters would give this team a legitimate scoring threat at the two-guard position. The Timberwolves were the talk of the NBA town early this year with the play of Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love. Rubio went down with an injury and they faded a bit at the end of the year. This is good for Minnesota as they bettered their draft position since they weren’t ready to make noise in the playoffs just yet.

19. Terrence Jones – F, Kentucky

I know, I know. I have Terrence Jones too low. I actually wanted to put him at No. 16 with the Rockets, but thought that since they drafted Marcus Morris last year that they wouldn’t take someone to replace him so soon. Jones is a gritty player but his motor runs hot and cold. He could prove to be a tough player off the bench for a notoriously soft Magic team.

20. Marquis Teague – G, Kentucky

With Andre Miller departing, the Nuggets need to add a backup point guard behind Ty Lawson. Teague would be able to grow as a player off the bench rather than being thrusted into a starting position, which he is not ready for.

21. Moe Harkless – F, St. John’s

The Celtics lack much scoring punch off of their bench besides Ray Allen. Harkless showed in his one season at St. John’s that he can fill it up, taking home Big East Freshman of the Year honors. He’s got great size and length and could turn out to be the heir to Paul Pierce’s throne.

22. Fab Melo – C, Syracuse

Fab Melo was dismissed from Syracuse due to repeated academic offenses. He’s a legit 7-feet tall and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He’s a very good shot blocker and improved by leaps and bounds from his freshman season. We know he can block shots by sitting in the middle of a zone, but can he play man defense? I love and hate this pick all at the same time. It is well known that the Celtics lack much depth at the power forward and center positions: Jermaine O’Neal is gone, Chris Wilcox hopes to return, Kevin Garnett is a free agent and Brandon Bass will most likely opt out of his deal.

23. Tony Wroten Jr. – G, Washington

Tyreke Evans 2.0. Wroten Jr has great size for his position, but lacks any semblance of a respectable jump shot. The Hawks could use a combo-guard to back up both Jeff Teague and Joe Johnson. GMs seem to be scared away by Wroten’s lack of maturity.

24. Quincy Miller – F, Baylor

The Cavaliers take two small forwards? Probably not, but I just can’t envision Miller slipping much further. His ceiling is too high at this point for the Cavs to pass on. Hopefully he can fully recover from the knee injury he suffered his senior season of high school and turn out to be the high-level prospect he was touted as.

25. John Jenkins – G, Vanderbilt

The Grizzlies are locked in to big contracts with Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, so the odd man out is OJ Mayo, who has been underwhelming in his tenure in Memphis. John Jenkins can shoot the lights out and would give this team a consistent three-point threat.

26. Doron Lamb – G, Kentucky

Doron Lamb translates into a shooter off the bench at the NBA level and could fill the void of Leandro Barbosa, assuming he doesn’t re-sign with the team after this season.

27. Festus Ezeli – C, Vanderbilt

The Heat sorely lack front court depth and turn to the senior out of Vanderbilt. A great team defender, Ezeli would help the Heat defend the rim and potentially develop into a very good one-on-one post defender.

28. Evan Fournier – G, France

The Thunder’s roster is absolutely stacked with young studs and great role players. Taking the best international player in the draft to stash overseas for a couple years would be a great move for this team. Fournier is the typical European prospect: great size and polish, excellent mid range game, needs to bulk up and add strength, may not be a good defender in the NBA. He needs to extend his range out to the three-point line.

29. Will Barton – G, Memphis

The Bulls could use a scorer at the shooting guard position as insurance for Rip Hamilton’s injury history. Barton is a prolific scorer, but needs to add bulk and strength to his frame to be able to attack the rim.

30. Andrew Nicholson – F, St. Bonaventure

The Warriors round out the first round with Andrew Nicholson, who would fit in well with the up-and-down game that they play. Coming off the bench behind David Lee and Andrew Bogut, Nicholson would be helpful at the rim on both sides of the floor: he is a good shot blocker and loves to dunk everything.

1. Obviously first and foremost the game Paul Pierce needed to play without Rondo and Ray. Pierce just went off with big shot after big shot in the fourth quarter.

2. DEFENSE, I haven’t seen this Celtics team play this good of D since the 2008 title run, KG was a monster as well as Avery Bradley contributing with some key stops at the end.

3. Doc did a great job coaching once the C’s got down eleven some teams would have packed it in but not this group and Doc was the leading man in helping to get the win.

4. The switch from Bass to Marquis down the stretch, Josh Smith went out with a knee injury so Doc seen the chance to go small where the Celtics are much better on both ends of the floor.

5. The Hawks just flat out fell apart in the 4th and with Josh Smith maybe out for game 3 and Rondo coming back they will need a huge and I mean huge effort Friday night in Boston if they want to get the lead in the series back.

It definitely was not a good look for Rondo. He quickly turned around, yelled at Davis, clapped his hands in front of his face, and then gave him a chest bump. If he had done that to a player, this wouldn’t even be a matter of debate, but the league protects their officials, and as expected, gave him a one game suspension. Let’s not forget that Rondo is a repeat offender, and was put in timeout for two games earlier this season for throwing a ball at a referee. If this occurred in the regular season, Rondo would probably have gotten two or three games off, but being the playoffs, thankfully Stern understood that the stakes were too high to give a multiple game suspension. Stern has to protect the referees and the image of the NBA, but he can’t interfere with the on court results to a certain extent. The players need to decide the result, not the referees, and not league officials.

It is because of Rondo’s fire and mental breakdowns, like what happened in Game 1, that so many trade rumors surrounded him earlier in the season. I love Rondo and was strongly against trading him, but it is because of blow-ups like this that Ainge was open to shipping him out of Boston. I personally like Rondo’s fire and how competitive he is, he just needs to learn how to harness that emotion and further use it to dominate the basketball court. Rivers, being a player’s coach, backed Rondo when asked about his mentality. Put money on who you think will win next at TopBet.com.

All that was day one…

So what will day 2 bring to the table?

Celtics vs Hawks: Well, I’m definitely excited to see our Celtics play the “home” team Hawks.  The Hawks ended up with the better record by a game and will have the home court advantage in this series.  This team is a team that some days falls in love with isolation type games, where they basically can look like a park pick up team.  Other days they move the ball around flawlessly and Joe Johnson and Josh Smith look like their unstoppable.  IMO I think this team has gotten worse compared to last year’s Atlanta Hawks team and as long as we hold them to a half-court team, I think the Celtics will have a great chance to win this series.

Advantages: We have the better players at every position and we have the better bench compared to Atlanta.  Rondo IMO has been the best PG this year and will continue his dominance in this series by wheelin and dealin to his teammates against the Hawks.  I guarantee Teague nor Henrich can stop his penetration.  Ray Allen is questionable, but Avery Bradley is a defensive stopper who can lock down Joe Johnson while cutting and driving his way to about 15 ppg.  Paul should be rested as will KG, and Pietrus is finally ready to contribute in the playoffs and maybe can be our last championship piece, just like how James Posey was in 2008.

Disadvantages: Even though Bradley is a great defender, he lacks the size to matchup with Joe Johnson.  If Joe starts to go off early, look for Doc to increase Pietrus’s minutes.  If Ray does suit up for the early games of this series, this matchup shouldn’t be too much of a problem.  The other disadvantage I see is our rebounding.  We MUST rebound the ball in the playoffs, especially this team.  A good defensive possesion must be capped of with a rebound and we are in the late 20′s in rebounding this year in the NBA.

Prediction: Celtics take the first game, but there is too much history from the 2008 playoffs season from these two teams to get a series sweep in.  I’m going to go out on a limb and say Celtics in 7, just because of the mini rivalry these teams have.  A 7 game series is going to be good for this team’s run in the playoffs.

The contest is short notice, but it’s free so no complaining.  The contest is open to anyone, including writers of this site with the exclusion of myself.

Here is the prize for this contest:

Antoine Walker autographed 8×10

That’s right people! We are going old school with the shimmier himself, Employee #8, Antoine Walker!

Intrigued?  Good. The process is simple:

A) Pick the games high scorer.

B) Correctly guess the right point total.

C) Only one guess per user.

D) Only the first person to make the correct guess gets the prize, i.e. if 8 of you pick Ray Allen to score 44-points only the first choice gets it.

3 Simple Rules to winning:

1) Answers must be submitted to the comment section 15 minutes prior to gametime of this post here on Celtics 24/7 (who knows who skims our posts) if this is “borrowed” you must submit your answer here.  (Note: This needs to be strict, if you are late I apologize.)

2) In the event of a tie for points between two players the tiebreaker will go as follows: Rebounds, Assists, and FG%.

3) The Celtics must win.  This is for all you none Celtics fans, now you have to root for Doc and Co.

4) Again, be sure to only post once! We will be checking IP addresses to catch all the cheatahs!

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE and most of all GO CELTICS!

Stat comparisons:

PPG: Celtics (91.8) vs. Atlanta (96.6)
RPG: Celtics (38.8) vs. Atlanta (41.2)
APG: Celtics (23.6) vs. Atlanta (22.4)
FG%: Celtics (46%) vs. Atlanta (45.4%)
FT%: Celtics (77.8%) vs. Atlanta (74%)
3P%: Boston (36.7%) vs. Atlanta (37%)

 According to the stats, it looks like a pretty even match-up.  But, hey, they don’t play the game on paper.

Now on to the “experts” of the NBA.  Majority of them predict the Celtics to be victorious.

ESPN.com Predictions:

ESPN.com BOSTON:

Jackie MacMullan: Celtics in 6
The Hawks are thin in the middle due to injuries, but don’t underestimate how critical it is for Ray Allen to play in this series. Boston should prevail but their margin of error is close to non-existant.
Chris Forsberg: Celtics in 6
Boston is too inconsistent to not slip up (no first-round sweep like the Knicks last year), but too talented to not win this series against a depleted Hawks squad. So long as Boston can steal one in Atlanta, this series should be short on drama (though each game will likely be a grind). In the end, Kevin Garnett at the 5 will be Boston’s biggest advantage against the shorthanded Hawks.
Peter May: Celtics in 6
As anyone who has paid even casual attention to the Celtics, they are a much better and deeper team now than they were two months ago. The emergence of Avery Bradley, the re-commitment to defense led by Kevin Garnett, the ongoing brilliance of Rajon Rondo and the versatility of the bench (Mickael Pietrus) makes them a tough out. Ray Allen might not be with them for some of the series, but the Hawks don’t expect to have Al Horford for any of it. Advantage: Boston.
Greg Payne: Celtics in 5
The loss of Al Horford for the Hawks opens up all kinds of possibilities for Kevin Garnett in this series. While Zaza Pachulia and Jason Collins can play physical, neither has the defensive chops to slow KG down when he’s looking for his offense. Couple Garnett’s surefire productivity in this series with a distinct advantage at the point guard position for Boston (Jeff Teague is steadily improving, but he’s not close to being on Rajon Rondo’s level yet), and this first-round matchup will be over sooner rather than later.

CBSSports.com:

Ken Berger: Celtics in 6 games

Matt Moore: Celtics in 6 games
East No.4 seed vs. No.5: Boston Celtics (4) vs. Atlanta Hawks (5). The Celtics won the season series 2-1 but Atlanta won the efficiency differential by +.8. The Celtics essentially conceded homecourt advantage to Atlanta this week, mostly because they will have more fans in Atlanta than the Hawks.

Ben Golliver: Celtics in 6 games

Royce Young: Celtics in 6 games

Jamey Eisenberg: Celtics in 6 games

I agree with all of them, except for the loner who likes Atlanta.  I believe the Celtics will win in 6 games, then face-off versus the Bulls in the 2nd round.

All about banner 18 in one last run with the Big 3 --- errr, I mean big 4

The chase to banner number 18 will begin Sunday in Atlanta.  Before leaving, the Celtics held a practice on Friday afternoon with near perfect attendance heading into the playoffs.

Ray Allen, still hobbled by his sore right ankle, did some light shooting before practice and some free-throw shooting at the end, but was otherwise not involved.

Greg Stiemsma, who has sat out practices recently due to foot and knee ailments, did participate.

Paul Pierce, who had left the regular-season finale on Thursday night with a sprained left big toe, also practiced. Pierce said it was a minor problem and he didn’t expect it to hinder him in the playoffs.

The only question marking heading into Sundays match-up remains Ray Allen.  Thanks to plenty of rest near the end of the season to get top players healthy, the Celtics look like the favorite versus the Hawks.

As we enter the final week of the NBA season, the Eastern Conference playoff picture is slowly coming into focus. While the possibility still exists for three different opponents — Atlanta, Orlando, and Indiana — the odds are heavy on the Hawks and the only real interesting area to watch this week will be whether Atlanta can hang onto its current grasp on home-court advantage in that 4-5 matchup.

The Hawks, winners of three in a row, still have a small chance to shuffle up to the No. 3 seed, but need an awful lot to go their way (sitting 2½ games behind the Pacers at the moment). Orlando’s overtime loss Saturday night might have ended any hope of them shuffling up to the No. 5 seed (sitting 2 games back of Atlanta). The Hawks are a 1½ games ahead of Boston in terms of overall record, which will be the deciding factor in home-court advantage (Boston does own the head-to-head tie-breaker in the event of matching records).

A glance at the standings through Saturday’s action:

The remaining schedules for the key players:

Boston: Heat (4/24), Bucks (4/26)
Atlanta: Knicks (4/22), Clippers (4/24), Mavericks (4/26)
Orlando: at Nuggets (4/22), Bobcats (4/25), at Memphis (4/26)
Indiana: Pistons (4/23), Bulls (4/25)

The Boston Celtics, seeking some added depth for their frontcourt, are closing in on the signing of free-agent center Sean Williams, according to sources with knowledge of the deal.

Sources told ESPN.com that the former Boston College center, waived by the Dallas Mavericks in March, is scheduled to join the Celtics in Atlanta and will be in uniform for Boston’s game on Friday night against the Hawks.

To make roster room for Williams, Boston is waiving the injured Jermaine O’Neal, sources said.

Williams joins former Cleveland Cavaliers center Ryan Hollins as new big men brought in by the Celtics late in the season to replace O’Neal and Chris Wilcox in support of a resurgent Kevin Garnett (who has played primarily center this season) and rookie surprise Greg Stiemsma.

O’Neal underwent season-ending wrist surgery late last month. Wilcox was waived on March 23 after being ruled out for the season due to a heart condition.

Williams was released on March 22 by the Mavericks, who decided they needed another wing player instead of four centers and used the vacated roster spot to sign swingman Kelenna Azubuike. Because Williams was waived by Dallas before the league’s March 23 deadline, he is eligible to play for Boston in the playoffs.

Williams cleared waivers on March 26. The 6-foot-10, 235-pounder averaged 3.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 8.1 minutes in eight games with the Mavericks but averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks in 27 games for the Texas Legends, Dallas’ D-League affiliate.

Low risk signing for the Celtics. Ryan Hollins just isn’t cutting it on the boards so I can see why Ainge made this move. Williams is only 25 years old so there is still some potential there.