76ers NBA Playoffs Watch: Wizards' Bradley Beal 'Not 100%'

Philadelphia 76ers' potential first-round NBA Playoff opponent the Washington Wizards have a problem on their hands as Bradley Beal is not fully healthy.

While the Sixers sealed their playoff spot over the weekend, other teams are still jockeying for position. They will now spend a majority of this week waiting to see who their opponent will be in the first round.

The first matchups of the play-in tournament take place on Tuesday night. Two of the Celtics, Wizards, Pacers, and Hornets will walk away with spots in the postseason.

Boston and Washington will battle it out for the seventh seed, with the loser having another chance for the eighth seed. One thing to watch in this matchup is the health status of Wizards' guard Bradley Beal.

Beal has been dealing with a hamstring strain that caused him to miss three of the team's final four games. He plans to play against the Celtics but does not think he will be at 100%.

Bradley Beal talking like he’ll give it a go tomorrow in Boston: "There’s no setback. I didn’t injure it any worse than it already, so that’s positive. Obviously it won’t be 100 percent. I’ve just got to manage it the best I can."

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) May 17, 2021

This puts the Wizards at a major disadvantage, as Beal is a focal point of their offense. The 27-year-old finished second in the league in scoring this season, averaging 31.3 points per game.

If Washington is still able to punch their ticket into the playoffs, this is something teams will have to monitor.

The Wizards need their starting backcourt at their best if they want to make any sort of noise in the postseason. Based on the way Beal talked about his injury, that doesn't seem to be the case.

Depending on how much they will have to exert Beal to win the play-in game(s), one might wonder how much toll that could take on his body before a playoff series even begins.

The Sixers should be paying close attention to these games as they await their first-round opponent. If they end up facing off against a Wizards team with an injured Beal, it should lead to a rather easy matchup to kick off the postseason. 

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.