The Celtics and 76ers Are Playing for Something Much Bigger Than Off-Court Drama

Forget the off-court drama. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers face off in November's biggest early-season measuring stick game for the East.

Oct 16, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Jaylen Brown (7) reacts after scoring against the Boston Celtics during the first quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Boston Celtics are in Philadelphia to take on the 76ers in a highly anticipated matchup. It’s as big a regular season game as you’ll get in November, and it has nothing to do with any drama. 

While a lot of the focus has been on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, their teams have opened the season as the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. They are only separated in the standings by an extra game the Sixers played and won, but besides that, they have begun their seasons quite similarly. 

They have each played seven of their games against teams currently below .500, including two games against Chicago and wins against Milwaukee and Charlotte. Each has already lost to Detroit but beaten New York, but both see this game as an early test of how good they really are. 

The Sixers break from Boston, though, with another win over the Knicks and a revenge win over the Pistons. They also have a blowout loss to the Cavs, who are 5-6 at the moment. 

The Celtics may be a half-game behind in the standings, but they have been more dominant in their performances. Their point differential (+10.7) is best in the East and net rating (+11.6) is tied with the Spurs on top of the entire league. 

The stage at Xfinity Mobile Arena isn’t being set for some Real Housewives drama. It’s being set for a basketball game to give one of these two teams a reality check, and the other some validation for the, ahem, process they’ve been following to get to this point. 

Sure, there will probably be some finger-pointing and trash talking somewhere along the way, and that's going to be what a lot of people rush to talk about. But the Celtics are starting an important stretch of their schedule where the competition is getting stronger. 

They don’t have the time to care about anyone’s hurt feelings. They have a back-to-back to worry about against a tough Toronto Raptors team. They have to keep Mitchell Robinson progressing forward and building on the chemistry (and stamina) he showed in Milwaukee. They have to figure out a starting lineup and rotations that remain a work in progress. 

There's too much going on to worry about who is or was friendly. And frankly, the same applies to the Sixers. They shouldn’t be worried about the Dread Pirate Jaylen captaining the pirate ship Revenge. They should be worried about figuring out an offense that doesn't need to be bailed out by Tyrese Maxey every other night.

It might be ironic that this drama between two former teammates is in the spotlight in The City of Brotherly Love. But whatever drama there is just serves as a distraction from a very important task at hand. The Celtics and Sixers each see the other as an obstacle, and this game is a measuring stick of where two championship hopefuls stand early in the season. 

Leave the off-court drama to radio hosts with time to fill and calls to elicit. The X’s and O’s don’t provoke the angry reactions that get them paid. This is the first true test of the semester, and tonight we’ll see the real questions answered about where these teams stand.