ESPN: Sixers Least Likely Team to Get Upset in First-Round

When the Sixers face the Wizards on Sunday in their first-round series playoff series, the team will do so as a heavy favorite to advance.

While the Wizards have played much better basketball to put themselves in position to make the playoffs, this will be an up hill climb to knock off the top-seeded Sixers.

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ESPN NBA insider Kevin Pelton ranked the biggest upset potential for each first-round series, and has the Sixers as the least likely team to be upset in round one, tied with the Utah Jazz against Memphis.

Perhaps if Bradley Beal were healthy, the Wizards would have a reasonable chance of pulling an enormous upset after going 15-4 over a 19-game stretch prior to Beal's hamstring knocking him out of the lineup. Although Beal is back, he hasn't looked like himself, which cost Washington in their loss to Boston in the play-in tournament. Trying to beat Philadelphia at full strength is hard enough. Without Beal, the task becomes nearly impossible.

Pelton gives the Sixers just a 10% chance of losing their series against Washington, citing the all-star Bradley Beal is not playing at 100% as one of the main reasons they will have problems beating the Sixers.

Washington played much better basketball after dealing with injuries and COVID-19 issues for much of the season. Since then, the team has taken off, and moved from out of the playoff race, into the play-in tournament and up to the eight seed.

The Sixers and Wizards meet Sunday at 1 p.m. on 97.3 ESPN.