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Boston Celtics (2-3) at Philadelphia 76ers (4-0)
Friday, October 31, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Regular Season Game #6 Road Game #4
Emerates NBA Cup Group B Game #1
TV: Amazon Video
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 97.5 The Fanatic, Sirius XM
Xfinity Mobile Arena 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
Shooting Guard 
vs
Payton Pritchard vs VJ Edgecombe
Small Forward 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Justin Edwards
Poward Forward 
vs
Josh Minott vs Kelly Oubre, Jr
Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Joel Embiid
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Chris Boucher
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Sam Hauser
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
76ers Reserves Johni Broome
Andre Drummond
Justin Edwards
Eric Gordon
Quentin Grimes
Kyle Lowry
Igor Milicic, Jr
Trendon Watford
2-Way Players Dominick Barlow
Hunter Sallis
Jabari Walker
Injuries/Out Paul George (knee) out
Jared McCain (thumb) out
Dominick Barlow (elbow) out
Head Coach Nick Nurse
Game Notes The Celtics travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers for the second of 4 games this season. They played in Boston in the first game of the season that Philly won 117-116. They will play one more time in Philadelphia on November 11. They will play the final game in Boston on March 1. This is the first of 4 NBA Cup games. The other 3 teams in Group B are Detroit, Orlando and Brooklyn.
The Celtics beat the 76ers 3-1 last season and they were also 3-1 against the 76ers in the 2023-24 season. The 76ers tanked hard the last part of last season and finished 24-58 to get the 3rd pick in the draft. The Celtics finished with a 61-21 record last season. The Celtics are 275-197 overall all time and they are 159-57 all time at home against the 76ers.
The 76ers haven't changed much since last season. They added Trendon Watford as a free agent. They also added Igor Milicic, Jr, who went undrafted in this year's draft. They added VJ Edgecombe with the 3rd pick in the draft and Johni Broome with the 35th pick in the draft. They lost Guerschon Yabusele, Jared Butler, and Ricky Council IV. The 76ers have a veteran core and an exciting lottery pick and if they can stay healthy, they could be a good team this season.
After this game on the road against Philadelphia, the Celtics will then play Houston, Utah and Washington at home before a 3 game road trip including 2 games in Orlando and one at Philadelphia. One of those games in Orlando will be the second NBA Cup game. Then they have 2 games at home against Memphis and the LA Clippers. Then it is one game on the road at Brooklyn before playing Brooklyn, Orlando, and Detroit at home.
The 76ers will play on the road at Brooklyn, Chicago and Cleveland. Then they face Toronto and Detroit at home. Then they host Boston once again before one game on the road at Detroit. Then they host the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors before one game on the road at Milwaukee. Then they host Miami and Orlando.
As of right now, Jayson Tatum is the only player on the Celtics injury list. For the 76ers, Paul George remains out after left arthroscopic knee surgery in the offseason. He is reportedly close to a return. Jared McCain practiced with the team on Thursday but is expected to miss this game with a thumb injury. Dominick Barlow is out with an elbow injury.
I'm including the same starting lineup that the Celtics used in their last 2 games with Josh Minott starting at power forward. Since the Celtics won both of those games, I expect that they will go with the same lineup for this game. For Philadelphia's starters, I have listed the starters from their game notes. It's always possible that there may be a last minute injury or a change by one or both coaches.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
Maxey is averaging 37.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 1 steal per game while shooting 45.5% from the field and 47.4% from beyond the arc. He is quick and shoots the ball well and so the Celtics will have their hands full defending him. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 40 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 1 block while shooting 54% from the field and 77.8% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must defend him better in this game.
vs
Payton Pritchard vs VJ Edgecombe
Edgecombe is one of the leaders for Rookie of the Year. He is averaging 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 34 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal while shooting 50% from the field and 38.5% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to do a better job of defending him in this game.
Honorable Mention Neemias Queta vs Joel Embiid
Embiid is averaging 16.3 points, 5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 45.9% from the field and 37.5% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics, he finished with just 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block while shooting 11.1% from the field with no 3 pointers. Hopefully the Celtics can limit him again in this game without having Al Horford, the Embiid stopper.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is a key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics were second in the preseason with a defensive rating of 100.2. They struggled on the defensive end against the 76ers, Knicks and Pistons and slipped to 22nd with a defensive rating of 116.8. After wins against the Pelicans and Cavaliers, they now are 9th with a defensive rating of 111.2. The 76ers are 26th with a defensive rating of 119.9. The Celtics must play tough lock down defense in this game if they want to beat the 76ers.
Rebound - Rebounding may be the biggest key to winning right now since the Celtics lost their first 3 games largely because they weren't able to rebound. The Celtics averaged 39.0 in their first 3 games and they lost those 3 games. The Celtics out-rebounded the Pelicans by 19 and they won the game going away. they pulled down 52 rebounds and out-rebounded the Cavaliers by 11 and also won that game. They simply have to fight harder to grab rebounds than their opponents. Much of rebounding is effort as evidenced by Payton Pritchard grabbing 10 rebounds against the Pistons. Every Celtic has got to crash the boards and fight for every rebound.
Consistency - The Celtics were able to build a lead in their first 3 games. They led by 13 against the 76ers, 8 against the Knicks and 17 against the Pistons . However, they weren't able to keep or build on those leads. They allowed the 76ers to out-score them 42-30 in the 4th quarter. They allowed the Knicks to out score them 42-14 in the 2nd quarter and they allowed the Pistons to outscore them 36-25 in the 2nd quarter and 34-23 in the 3rd quarter. The Celtics finally were able to play consistently well throughout the game against the Pelicans and the Cavaliers, especially in the 4th quarter. They need to play well on both ends of the court for all 4 quarters and not allow the 76ers to have a big quarter to pull ahead in the end.
Effort and Energy - In their past 2 games, the Celtics played harder and with more energy than their opponents. That has to be their identity this season. They have to play harder on defense. They have to rebound harder. They have to play with energy and extra effort for every possession. They can't allow the 76ers to play harder than them and have to play with more energy.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics will be on the road and facing a very hostile crowd. Philly fans hate the Celtics because they have pretty much owned them in recent years. They hate Jayson Tatum because the Celtics took him with Philly's pick after the 76ers traded up to take Markelle Fultz. There will likely be a lot of boos and the Celtics need to play through them.
Rest vs Rust - The Celtics are playing in their 5th game in 7 nights and last played on Wednesday. The 76ers have had 2 days off since they last played on Tuesday. For some teams that extra day of rest gives them extra energy. For others, it causes them to come out rusty. Hopefully, the Celtics will come in with momentum from their tougher schedule.
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. 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: Celtics (2-3) at 76ers (4-0) Game #6 10/31/25 (Read 120 times)