NBA PREVIEW: Sixers Host Celtics in Possible First Round Playoff Matchup

The Bulls are stampeding through the Eastern Conference, and that's bad news for the Boston Celtics.

The defending Eastern Conference champions were only one quarter from winning the NBA Finals title last season, and now are facing a prominent challenger in Chicago, as the regular season winds down.

The Celtics will look to maintain their record to gain home-court advantage when they face the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at Wells Fargo Center.

The Sixers are certainly no pushovers. After struggling in the beginning of the season, new head coach Doug Collins has seen his squad make a strong recovery in February and now have a winning record with their sights set on the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Philadelphia has been playing particular well recently, despite an overtime loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last game. The Sixers had previously won three games in a row and seven of their last eight.

With a balanced attack, it seems the Sixers don't have a true go-to guy. For example, in a recent road victory over the Indiana Pacers, the Sixers had seven players in double figures, and the team shot better than 51.1 percent.

The Celtics, on the other hand, are leading the Eastern Conference in wins with basically a four-man effort. Since Paul Pierce was joined by Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett via trade in the summer of 2007, along with the emergence of point guard Rajon Rondo, the Celtics have been among the best teams in the NBA.

This season is no different, with the four players leading the team to the second-best record in the NBA.

However, GM Danny Ainge pulled off a trade that brought forward Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic to the team, and since then there has better a different feel to the team.

How those two players fit with the Celtics' stars may be the deciding factor if the Celtics can hold off the Bulls, let alone bring back the Larry O'Brien trophy to Boston.