It’s official: Sixers-Celtics is set to start with Game 1 Monday

With the Celtics’ 128-120 win over the Hawks Thursday night, the Sixers will officially head to Boston for Game 1 of the second round Monday.

The schedule will look like this:

• Game 1: Monday, May 1 at Boston (7:30 p.m./TNT)
• Game 2: Wednesday, May 3 at Boston (8 p.m./TNT)
• Game 3: Friday, May 5 at Philadelphia (7:30 p.m./ESPN)
• Game 4: Sunday, May 7 at Philadelphia (3:30 p.m./ESPN)
• Game 5: Tuesday, May 9 at Boston*
• Game 6: Thursday, May 11 at Philadelphia*
• Game 7: Sunday, May 14 at Boston*

*if necessary

It was nice of Atlanta to extend the series a little longer and push Game 1 to Monday, but asking for a Game 7 was likely too much. So, now Joel Embiid will get an extra two days to rest the sprained LCL in his right knee. If he’s able to play Game 1, it will have been 11 days since the injury occurred.

Embiid’s status remains very much in the air. The likely MVP did not participate in the team’s practices this week other than film work, but on Tuesday could be seen working out with head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson. Doc Rivers has been asked every which way, but said the team will provide an update in the coming days.

“I’m not thinking about it,” Rivers said Tuesday. “I’m thinking about just us — preparing us. Obviously, in a day or two, we’ll get more (information). But I’m not going to worry about something when I don’t know what it’s going to be yet. We’ve got a lot of guys that we’ve got to get prepared for the next round.”

The Celtics took three of four from the Sixers this season, with the lone win coming back on April 4 in the final matchup. That night Embiid might have sewn up his MVP award with a 52-point masterpiece.

Aside from the big fella’s health, the concern will be the rest of the Sixers’ roster. After having a big opening night against Boston, James Harden was mostly quiet in the next three matchups. Tyrese Maxey’s struggles against the Celtics has been well-documented. And the biggest question: how will the Sixers contend with Boston’s incredible depth?

We’ll keep you posted on official times and how to watch. Plus, we’ll have every angle covered ahead of a potentially franchise-altering series for the Sixers.