76ers, Heat to face-off in Game 1 Saturday; Playoff schedule released

PHILADELPHIA (WTXF) - The Philadelphia 76ers will kick off their first-round playoff matchup against the Miami Heat on Saturday night.

The #3 seed Sixers and #6 seed Heat will square off for game one on Saturday, April 14 at 8:00 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center. The game will air on ESPN.

After Saturday, the teams will play game two of the best-of-seven series on Monday, April 16 at the Wells Fargo Center.

The series will head south to Miami for game three and four on Thursday, April 18 and Saturday, April 21.

The Sixers will head into the series as the first team ever to finish the regular season with a 16 game winning streak. The team capped their season with an impressive win over the #7 seeded Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night.

The Eastern Division is full of question marks with the #1 seeded Toronto Raptors and their recent history of lackluster playoff performances, and the #2 seed Boston Celtics suffering injuries to several key players including star point guard Kyrie Irving.

Meanwhile, LeBron James and the #4 seed Cleveland Cavaliers remain a playoff threat, despite a less below average regular season for the franchise.

The biggest question mark for the Sixers is the health of their star center Joel Embiid. Embiid suffered a broken bone around his left eye and underwent surgery back on March 31. The big man is expected to wear a protective mask during the playoffs, but on Monday he told reporters he would likely miss game one on Saturday.

The remainder of the Sixers playoff schedule can be found below:

Game 1: Sat. April 14 Miami at Philadelphia, 8 p.m., ESPN
Game 2: Mon. April 16 Miami at Philadelphia, 8 p.m., TNT
Game 3: Thu. April 19 Philadelphia at Miami, 7 p.m., TNT
Game 4: Sat. April 21 Philadelphia at Miami, 2:30 p.m., TNT
*Game 5: Tue. April 24 Miami at Philadelphia, TBD
*Game 6: Thu. April 26 Philadelphia at Miami, TBD
*Game 7: Sat. April 28 Miami at Philadelphia, TNT

*If necessary