The Philadelphia 76ers know they are underdogs headed into this playoff matchup with the rival Boston Celtics. They are without one of their stars in Ben Simmons and they will be relying on a lot of younger players to step up and defend some talented offensive wings that the Celtics possess.
One of those younger players is Furkan Korkmaz who has blossomed into a sharpshooter that Philadelphia needs finishing the season shooting 40.2% from deep. Despite that improvement and having Joel Embiid on their side, the Sixers are still considered big underdogs in this series and they know they are in for a battle in this one.
“We are ready,” said Korkmaz. “We have been waiting for this time for eight or nine months. Every time we talk with each other, we say we are a playoff team. That’s why we are here. We are ready to fight, It’s going to be tough, we know that, but we are ready. That’s why we’ve been working all year.”
The Celtics are probably going to target Korkmaz on defense due to his reputation–despite the comfortability the team has having him defend–but he says his mindset is ready for that matchup as well. The Celtics have a lot of talented wings, he understands that, but he is ready to prove that he can play defense at this level.
“To be honest, this is not like the beginning of the season,” Korkmaz added. “Now, I feel like I’m ready to guard anybody. I’m just looking at myself and saying ‘I will do my job. I will do my best.’…I think I’m ready.”
The Sixers and the Celtics matchup in Game 1 on Monday at 6:30 p.m. EST inside the bubble at Disney World. [lawrence-related id=36880,36877,36883]