The Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks are set to rekindle their rivalry in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
The series was finalized after the 76ers squeaked past the Miami Heat by one point (105-104) in this week’s play-in tournament.
It’s a series that 76ers backup center Paul Reed is especially excited for after confirming that the team “wanted” this matchup.
“We ain’t ducking no smoke, but yeah, we wanted the Knicks matchup, of course,” Reed said, (first transcribed by CBS Sports). “That’s the easier team I guess, but you know it’s going to be fun, we match up pretty well. They got a great guard, we got a great guard, we also got Joel, MVP, so like you said earlier, he’s one of the most unstoppable guys in the league right now. They’re gonna have to send triple teams, and he’s gonna get everybody else involved.”
Fans will bookmark this quote for later, especially if the 76ers lose this series. They come into it as an underdog but anything can happen in the playoffs.
Game 1 of this series will get underway on Monday from Madison Square Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET.