Celtics to Face 76ers Without 3 Key Players in Season Opener

Dec 28, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and forward Paul George (8) react to a play against the Utah Jazz during the fourth quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics will tip off their 2025-26 season on Wednesday against an understaffed Philadelphia 76ers squad.

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According to Tim Bontemps of ESPN, three Philadelphia veterans will be unavailable against Boston — but 2023 MVP Joel Embiid will, for once, be available on his team's opening night!

Paul George, Jared McCain and Trendon Watford, however, all are out for the opener.

Quite a change from last year at this time, however, for Embiid. https://t.co/OyYCbPpTt5

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) October 21, 2025

Nine-time All-Star forward Paul George, second-year combo guard Jared McCain, and power forward Trendon Watford have already been ruled out.

George had a summer arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, and has yet to be cleared to play.

An Accidentally Semi-Rebuilding 76ers Squad in 2025-26

The 76ers are trying to reconfigure their franchise on the fly, after a summer of blockbuster deals in 2024 yielded a 24-58 season amid disappointing injuries to top stars Embiid, George and Tyrese Maxey.

George, in particular, seemed to regress mightily, and at 35 may just be a bit cooked. That's a shame, since he is in just the second season of a four-year, $211.6 million deal he had inked with Philadelphia last year.

In just 41 healthy games last season, the 6-foot-8 Fresno State product averaged 16.2 points on .430/.358/.814 shooting splits, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.5 blocks.

McCain, who missed most of his rookie season in 2024-25, is recovering from a right UCL tear thumb surgery. Watford has a tight left hamstring.

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The No. 16 pick out of Duke last year, McCain had been looking like a Rookie of the Year candidate before going down with a left knee meniscus tear in December. The 6-foot-3 pro wrapped up his debut pro season averaging 15.3 points on a .460/.383/.875 slash line, 2.6 dimes, 2.4 boards and 0.7 swipes in just 23 games (eight starts). When he does return from his thumb surgery, McCain will now be jockeying for backcourt minutes with 2025 No. 3 pick V.J. Edgecombe, a healthier Maxey, and disgruntled former restricted free agent Quentin Grimes.

Per the league's latest injury report, four-time All-Star Boston swingman Jaylen Brown has seen his status downgraded to questionable due to a left hamstring strain. Six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, of course, is out to start the season as he recovers from the surgery he had in May to address an Achilles tendon rupture.

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