Celtics rookie Hugo Gonzalez brought the effort Boston needed to beat the rival (and previously undefeated) 76ers in Philadelphia.

The former Celtics big man will have to work his way into Portland’s rotation. The Blazers have leaned on Donovan Clingan as their starter thus far, with Duop Reath and first-round pick Yang Hansen coming off the bench. It’s unclear how Williams fits in the front court, but getting him back on the court is still a positive sign.

SportsLine's model simulated Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers 10,000 times and revealed its 2025 NBA Cup picks

The 2-2 Houston Rockets look to add to their first win streak of the 2025-26 NBA regular season on Saturday night.

Of course, the Celtics are still not at the necessary level to be viewed as a contending team. In fact, they're at least one elite-level player and a Jayson Tatum return away from being back to the necessary skill level of a contending roster.

The Sixers came back from 19 points down to beat Washington 139-134 in overtime on Tuesday in D.C. Tyrese Maxey posted game highs of 39 points and 10 assists in 47 minutes on the second night of a back-to-back. Joel Embiid scored 25 points in 23 minutes, while Quentin Grimes added 23 points off the bench.

On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers will welcome the Boston Celtics into the Xfinity Mobile Arena for the opening match of the NBA Cup tournament. The Sixer

If the Celtics can figure out how to build on that performance, they could be a sleeper team in the Eastern Conference, despite all of the cost-cutting moves the front office made during the summer. In a recent episode of the "Hoops Tonight" podcast,

Joe Mazzulla has mixed up his rotation plenty in the first two weeks of the season including with rookie Hugo Gonzalez.

Derrick White had high remarks to share about Jaylen Brown following his 32-point outing in the Celtics' win over the 76ers on Friday night.