BOSTON -- Sixers forwards Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand are both expected to play in tonight's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Boston.

The Sixers said Brand has a strained neck that is impacting the left side of his body. He saw a chiropractor Sunday and was still sore Monday during the team's light shootaround. Brand said the neck has been bothering him for about a week.

Brand played only a bit over 15 minutes on Saturday, partially due to the injury, partially due to the effectiveness of Lavoy Allen, who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in just under 20 minutes.

The Sixers said during Saturday's game that Young injured his right ankle, but Young told reporters Sunday that he rolled the ankle after getting kneed in the shin. Young had the shin iced this morning.

Young missed a little time in the second quarter due to the injury and didn’t play at all in the third quarter, but was able to return throughout the fourth.

The Celtics lead the series, 1-0.

BOSTON -- Thaddeus Young sat courtside after Sunday's film/shooting session at TD Garden with an ice pack wrapped around his right shin. While the team relayed to the media during the game that he had sprained his right ankle, Young cleared up the injury a bit Sunday.

"I actually got kneed in the shin which caused me to roll my ankle a little bit, but it was the shin that hurt," Young said. "I tried to run it out, but it kind of spasmed up a little bit. I'll be fine. I'll definitely play."

He missed a little time in the second quarter due to the injury and didn't play at all in the third quarter but was able to return to play throughout the fourth.

Also on the injury list is forward Elton Brand, who is nursing a sore neck. Brand played only a bit over 15 minutes on Saturday, partially due to the injury, partially due to the effectiveness of Lavoy Allen, who scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds in just under 20 minutes of play.

"E.B. was struggling a little bit, and Lavoy was playing great," said coach Doug Collins. "I think the guys know that at this point in time I got to go with the guys who are playing well. E.B. is a proud guy, and he's going to give everything he can (Monday). If he's playing well he'll get those minutes. When they went to a smaller lineup it's hard to get E.B. and Spencer (Hawes) out there together."

Brand said that the neck has been bothering him for about a week and that he was going to see a chiropractor Sunday.

Video: The Celtics came back to defeat the 76ers 92-91 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Daily News' Bob Cooney breaks down the game with The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy.

The rivalry between the 76ers and Boston Celtics used to be among the best in all of sports. Russell vs. Chamberlain. Bird vs. Erving. Malone vs. Parrish.

Times have certainly changed but many remember how riveting the games between the green and white and the red, white and blue used to be.

“I grew up and the Sunday afternoon game we used to get when I was a kid was the Sixers and the Celtics, either from Boston Garden or from Philadelphia,” said Sixers coach Doug Collins. “I remember the parquet floor and I remember how I couldn’t wait to go to the Garden and see the parquet and it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be this beautifully polished parquet floor that you could eat off of and I realized that wasn’t the case.

“The first NBA game I ever saw I was visiting Lehigh University to see if I wanted to go to school there and my cousin took me to a Sixers-Celtics playoff game. I remember coming in here as a player and playing them in the playoffs. We played them a Game 3 in Boston and it was so hot in the Garden. And then I remember as a coach going into the Garden with the Bulls and my first playoff experience and they had (Larry) Bird, (Kevin) McHale, (Robert) Parrish, D.J. (Dennis Johnson), Danny Ainge and that group of guys. It goes back a long time for me. I remember the locker rooms if you won, if the game before it was hot the next night it was cold or one night it would be cold and the next night it would be red-hot. I remember the early morning wake-up calls at the hotel where people would just so happen to call you and wake you up in the middle of the night. All those wonderful things. I remember going back to watch the tape of a game, they gave me a tape to watch when I was coaching Chicago and the tape was blank. Good rivalry.”

Thad Free:

Few people could have been happier when the Sixers polished off the Chicago Bulls in the first round than Sixers forward Thaddeus Young. In the six games, Young produced only 7.2 points and 5.3 rebounds in just under 22 minutes. He was basically swallowed up on both ends of the court by Chicago’s Taj Gibson. Now facing a Celtics team in the second round would seem to bring a huge sigh of relief for Young, though he was wary as the Celtics were the No. 1 defensive team during the regular season.

“They (Chicago and Boston) are two tough teams with some of the better defenders in the league,” said Young. “As far as playing against them you just have to take it game by game and just play. Whatever matchup is fine with me. I’m just going to go out there and play regardless. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing (in the playoffs), try to go out there and not get frustrated and remain focused. I think I’ve done a good job of that. The last game (against Chicago) I think I played with a lot more energy and intensity than I played in the games before that and we got the win. I’m happy about moving to the next series and next round and just ready to play.

“They usually try to match up (Greg) Stiemsma and (Brandon) Bass. Those guys try to be physical with me and take me out of my game a little bit. But I pretty much just use my quickness and athletic ability to try and get around them and get a few shots off. But that’s not the key. The key is us going out there and playing as a team together.”

Longtime Friends:

Had the Chicago Bulls beaten the Sixers in the first round, Boston coach Doc Rivers would have been squaring off against his former assistant in Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. As it is he’s going against Doug Collins, a longtime friend whose son, Chris, recruited Rivers’ son, Austin, to play at Duke University where the younger Collins is an assistant coach.

“We’re very, very close,” said Rivers. “We talk a lot during the season. For me I don’t enjoy that part of it. I was talking to Thibs and I said that I was screwed either way, having to play either him or Doug. In this case it’s just what it is.”

“I think Chris sort of played a big-brother role for Austin at Duke,” said Collins. “Our families are close. When Doc and his family decided that Austin was going to go there I think they felt it was a place where he was going to get nurtured and grow not only on but off the court. Doc reached out to Chris after the season was over and thanked him for what he did for Austin this year. I have great respect for Doc.”

Bad Scheduling:

Both the Sixers and the Celtics started their series Saturday less than 48 hours after having clinched the first round. It didn’t go unnoticed by Celtics coach Doc Rivers, whose older team is dealing with injuries to Paul Pierce (sprained kneed ligaments) and Ray Allen (foot injury).

“I was surprised and I’m sure Doug (Collins) was surprised as well,” Rivers said. “Miami and Indiana have been off and they’re playing on Sunday. What surprised me more was the first four games (being played) every other day. I couldn’t have prescribed a worse solution for us. I was very surprised by that. But like I told our guys, nobody cares. You have to go play. That’s just the way it is.”

UPDATE: While it is unclear how much -- if any -- Joakim Noah will play, he is listed as "available" for the Bulls.

EARLIER:

Bulls center Joakim Noah will be on the court for wramups tonight to see if he is ready to return to action after missing the last two games with a sprained ankle.

"He’s diligent with his rehab, he’s doing the work, the swelling has gone down and if he can go, he goes, and if he can’t, he’ll get ready for the next one," Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters.

The Bulls still like Omer Asik as the starter.

Thibodeau also said Taj Gibson would be a game-time decision, but he has indicated he intends to play.

Noah and Gibson were both in the Bulls' layup line.

**

Both the Sixers and Celtics have some work to do tonight to close out their first-round series, but the NBA is looking ahead to the possible Round 2 schedule with the various possibilities.

If both the Chicago-Philadelphia AND the Boston-Atlanta series conclude in 6 games, here is the schedule

* Game 1 is Saturday in Boston at 7 or 8 p.m.

* Game 2 is Monday in Boston at 7 p.m.

If either the Chicago-Philadelphia OR the Boston-Atlanta series conclude in 7 games, here is the schedule:

* Game 1 is Monday at the highest remaining seed at 7 p.m.

* Game 2 is Wednesday at the highest remaining seed at a time TBD.

Sixers guard Lou Williams was named the runner-up for the NBA Sixth Man Award.

Williams led the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game despite not starting a single game.

Williams finished behind Oklahoma City's James Harden. Harden, who led all NBA reserves in scoring (16.8 ppg), came off the bench in 60 of 62 games he appeared in, helping Oklahoma City finish with the NBA’s third-best record (47-19).

Harden received 584 of a possible 595 points, including 115 of a possible 119 first-place votes, from a panel of 119 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

Williams finished with 231 points. Dallas' Jason Terry, who won the award in 2008-09, finished third with 81 points.

The Sixers' Thaddeus Young finished ninth with 10 overall points.

The Sixers had a chance to close out their first round series with the Bulls on Tuesday night in Chicago, but the wrestling match that was the fifth game of the series went to the Bulls by the paltry score of 77-69.

Tonight at the Wells Fargo Center the Sixers will again try to close out the series. In all but Game 2, the Sixers have shot the ball horrendously, but somehow have managed to lead by 3 games to 2. Tonight the key for them, they say, is getting off to a quick start.

"Early on, we need to look to offensively be confident," said forward Andre Iguodala at this morning's shootaround. "We need to go out there and try to have a sense of groupness out there, getting guys the ball and not make it tough on ourselves."

What has made things especially tough so far this series has been the play of Bulls reserve forward Taj Gibson, who has not only been a force offensively but has also taken Sixers forward Thaddeus Young out of the equation with his defense. Gibson twisted his right ankle in Game 5 in Chicago, limped badly to the locker room in the third quarter, but returned later and played the last few minutes of the game. Gibson stated that he is ready to go tonight.

"He's a guy that's going to iimpose his will on the game, I've always been a big fan of his," said coach Doug Collins of Gibson. "With his high activitiy the fact that he can guard, can get out on the break...They have made a conscious effort when he's in the game to post him against Thad (Young). We have to do a better job at that. We have to take away the primary offense that he brings because normally he's a guy who plays off people. In our series they made a conscious effort when he's in the game to go to him. The one game in here he had 10 or 12 points in the paint in the second quarter. We can't let him come in and make that kind of impact. He's always going to have an impact on the game, the question is how many points is he going to score for them. We'd like to make him be a guy that has to make jump shots than be able to score in the paint."

Should the Sixers get off to that fast start they talked about, it would help negate the advantage Gibson brings when he comes off the bench, usually late in the first quarter.

"We have to get off to a good start and be aggressive early," said center Spencer Hawes. "We need to get some momentum early and get into that good flow."

We will find out if that happens at around 7:10 tonight.

The 76ers could not wrap up their first-round series with the Bulls in Game 5, falling 77-69 at the United Center in Chicago. CineSport's Brian Clark and Bob Cooney of the Daily News discuss the loss.

The Sixers will host Game 6 of their first-round series against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center.

All three teams with clinching possibilities in the NBA on Tuesday failed to win their series in Game 5, so three games are on tap Thursday.

Sixers-Bulls opens the evening, with Atlanta at Boston at 8 p.m. and the Lakers at Denver at 10:30 p.m. The Sixers, Celtics and Lakers each have a 3-2 series lead.

The winner of the Sixers-Bulls series will face the winner of the Celtics-Hawks in Round 2.

In the other game Tuesday night, Indiana beat Orlando, 105-87, to win that series, 4-1. The Pacers await the winner of the Miami-New York series. The Heat leads, 3-1, with Game 5 on Wednesday.