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Philadelphia 76ers (0-1) at Boston Celtics (1-0)
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
7:00 PM ET
First Round Game #2 Home Game #2
TV: Peacock/NBCSN
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.5 Fanatic, Sirius XM
TD Garden
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
Shooting Guard 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs VJ Edgecombe
Small Forward 
vs
Sam Hauser vs Kelly Oubre, Jr
Poward Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Paul George
Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Adem Bona
Celtics ReservesPayton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Nikola Vucevic
Ron Harper, Jr
Delano Banton
John Tonje
2-Way PlayersNone
Injuries/OutRon Harper, Jr (ankle) probable
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
76ers Reserves Andre Drummond
Quentin Grimes
Kyle Lowry
Justin Edwards
Trendon Watford
Dalen Terry
Dominick Barlow
Jabari Walker
2-Way PlayersMarJon Beauchamp
Tyrese Martin
Injuries/OutJoel Embiid (Appendix) out
Head CoachNick Nurse
Game Notes The Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 2 of their best of 7 first round series. The Celtics have won all 3 series that have been played in the Brown/Tatum era, winning in 2018, 2020 and 2023. and they are off to a good start with a 123-91 win in the first game of the series. The Celtics have a 67-50 record against the 76ers overall in the playoffs. In the regular season, the Celtics are 212-199 overall, all time against the 76ers. They are 157-58 all time in games played in Boston.
These two teams tied the series 2-2 this season. The 76ers won 117-116 on opening night, October 22 in Boston and they won again 102-100 in Philadelphia on November 11. The Celtics won 109-108 in Philadelphia on October 31 and again 114-98 in Boston on March 1. These games don't tell us much about this series as the Celtics were without Jayson Tatum in all 4 and the 76ers were without Paul George for all 4.
Three of the 4 matches between the Celtics and 76ers this season were decided by 2 points or less. The Celtics need to avoid close games down the stretch in these playoffs if they can help it. They did this quite well with a 32 point win in Game 1. The 76ers had the #1 clutch defense in the NBA in the regular season They had a 98.6 defensive rating during the last 5 minutes of games that were within 5 points. They were 23-18 in games that included clutch minutes. The Celtics were 16-17 in games that included clutch minutes and that includes going 1-2 against Philadelphia this season.
Game 1 was all Celtics. They started off quickly and other than an early tie, the Celtics held the lead throughout the game. They built the lead to as many as 35 points and finished with a 32 point lead, even after considerable garbage time. No Celtic played more than 33 minutes and most played under 30 minutes. The Celtics had 6 players in double figures and 12 different players played at least 1 minute. The Celtics got 37 points off their bench while the 76ers got 27 points from their bench.
Teams that win Game 1 of a best of 7 series at home go on to win the series 86.0% of the time. Teams that win the first 2 games at home go on to win the series 94% of the time. However, if a home team wins game 1 but loses game 2 in a best of 7 series, the odds of them going on to win the series drops down to 76.6%. Still a good percentage, but much lower than if they win both games at home.
The Celtics come into this game with one player on their injury report. Ron Harper, Jr has been listed as probable for this game with a right ankle sprain. For the 76ers, Joel Embiid is the only player on their injury report. Embiid underwent an appendectomy on April 9. Recovery for an appendectomy is anywhere from 20 days to 5 weeks. We know that he will miss at least the first part of the series and the Celtics need to take advantage and win while he is out. I'm guessing that Adem Bona will start at center once again.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
In the regular season, Maxey averaged 28.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 46.2% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. In the 4 games against the Celtics in the regular season, he averaged 30 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks while shooting 41.8% from the field and 51.4% from beyond the arc. In Game1, the Celtics were able to hold him to 21 points on 20 shots along with 1 rebound and 8 assists while shooting 40% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. Derrick White, Jayson Tatum and Jordan Walsh were the primary defenders to slow Maxey down and they did a good job. Expect the Celtics to continue to throw different defenders at him with hopefully the same or better results.
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Paul George
In the regular season, George averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists while shooting 43.9% from the field and 39.2% from beyond the arc. Neither of these players were able to play in any of the 4 games between Boston and Philly this season. In Game 1, George finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc, but he only took 8 shots. The Celtics need to keep him in check once again in this game. Tatum finished Game 1 with 25 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals while shooting 52.9% from the field but was just 1-7 on threes.
Honorable MentionJaylen Brown vs Vj Edgecomb
Edgecombe will likely come in 3rd for Rookie of the Year. He averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc. In the 4 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 43.5% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 37.5% from the field and going 0-5 from beyond the arc. Brown finished Game 1 with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 52.4% from the field and going 2-2 on threes.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is a key to winning this, and every, game. It is very true that efense wins championships. The Celtics finished the season with a defensive rating of 111.7, which was 4th in the league. The 76ers finished the season 17th with a defensive rating of 114.4. After 1 game in Round 1, the Celtics are 2nd with a defensive rating of 93.8 while the 76ers are 14th with a defensive rating of 126.8. The Celtics need to continue to make defense a priority and they need to play physical, lock down defense for all 48 minutes.
Rebound - Rebounding is also one of the biggest keys to winning every game. As Pat Riley once said, "No rebounds, no rings. The Celtics finished the season 3rd in the league with 46.4 rebounds per game. The 76ers finished 17th with 43.6 rebounds per game. This season, the Celtics were 43-12 in games that they tied or out-rebounded opponents and just 11-13 in games in which they were out-rebounded. In Game 1, the Celtics out-rebounded the 76ers 43-40. The Celtics were out-rebounded on the offensive end 11-5, but then, the 76ers missed a lot more shots than the Celtics did. They simply have to fight harder to grab rebounds than the 76ers if they want to win this game. Every Celtic has got to crash the boards and fight for every rebound.
No Complacency - If the Celtics had one flaw this season, it was becoming complacent and allowing lesser teams to play harder than them. They can't afford to do that in the playoffs. They got a very dominant win in Game 1 but the 76ers will regroup and make adjustments and will play harder in Game 2. The Celtics have to play even harder in this game and they will need to be ready for the 76ers' adjustments. They can't get complacent and have to come out and fight even harder in this game.
Be Aggressive and Stay Focused - The Celtics need to be the more aggressive team once again. They have to play physical defense and they have to be more aggressive in going for rebounds and loose balls and getting to the basket, especially if their 3's aren't falling. Usually the more aggressive team gets the benefit of the calls and being more aggressive will help to fluster the 76ers. They also have to stay focused on on playing the right way. Move the ball, look for the open man, take good shots, play physical defense, and fight for rebounds.
X-FactorsHome Game - Teams play all season to secure home court in the playoffs but they can lose it by losing one of the first 2 games. The Celtics need to feed off the energy of the crowd and hopefully, the 76ers will be distracted by travel and the hostile crowd. The Celtics should play harder to win on their home court. They need to protect home court and keep their home court advantage. The Celtics crowd will be loud and the Celtics need to use that to their advantage and get the win.
Coaching - Joe Mazzulla is in his 4th season as Celtics' head coach. He won a title in 2024 with a very talented team that was packed with shooting stars. Now he has to win in a different way since his personnel has changed and he did a great job in the regular season. Nick Nurse is in his 8th season as a head coach overall and his 3rd as the 76ers head coach. He won a title with the Raptors in 2019. Joe came out on top in Game 1 but Nurse will make adjustments and have his team ready to play in Game 2. Joe has to be ready for those adjustments and counter with some of his own.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. Refs usually allow a little more go in the playoffs but not always. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow the no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.
Topic: 76ers (0-1) at Celtics (1-0) Round 1 Game 2 4/21/26 (Read 200 times)