The Sixers are headed for a first-round matchup with the Celtics, but their regular-season meetings suggest this series may be more competitive than expected.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics matched up four times this season. Both teams went 2-2 in the season series, with the Sixers winning the first game of their season and later at home in November.
In their first victory, a star-studded backcourt was born, nicknamed VJ Maxx. Tyrese Maxey scored 40 points in this game, and VJ scored the third-highest points in a debut with 34.
The squad kept Payton Pritchard and Derrick White under 50.0% shooting for the night and, despite some excellent play from Anfernee Simons, the Sixers backcourt led the team to a 117-106 victory. However, Jaylen Brown still proved to be an issue in this game, scoring an efficient 25 points.
In the team’s second victory against the Celtics on Nov. 11, the Sixers won another close game, 102-100. In this game, both Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were extremely inefficient on the offensive side of the ball.
Celtics wing Jordan Walsh was especially impressive this game, playing some tight defense on Maxey all night. However, two key players stepped up in this game for the Sixers.
Justin Edwards scored 22 points on 8-9 shooting and Quentin Grimes scored 18 on 6-10 shooting. The team also locked in on defense, again limiting the effectiveness of both Payton Pritchard and Derrick White, both of whom failed to shoot 50.0% from the field.
In fact, the Sixers' suffocating defense forced the Celtics to shoot only 39% from the field as a team.
There are two key statistics that prevented Philadelphia from winning their other two matchups against Boston. On Oct. 31, the Celtics beat the Sixers in a nailbiter, 109-108.
The Sixers turned the ball over twice as many times as the Celtics. In a game ultimately decided by one point, Philly's 18 turnovers came back to bite them. Add in a fantastic night from Jaylen Brown that saw him post 32 points and 6 assists, and the Sixers came up just short in the end.
In the Sixers' second loss on March 1, 2026, the Sixers were absolutely demolished in Boston, 114-98. The team's backcourt of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe both put up points, but did so at an inefficient rate. More importantly, though, the Sixers had no answer for the Celtics’ centers.
Nikola Vucevic, acquired midseason, put up 11 points and 12 rebounds in just 21 minutes and Neemias Queta had the best game in his career, scoring 27 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Ultimately, the Sixers lost this game on the boards, getting out-rebounded by the Celtics 59-37.
While the Sixers and Celtics split the season series, it is important to note that in all four games, there were significant members on both teams who either made only a few or no appearances. The Sixers were missing Joel Embiid for half of the games and Paul George did not make a single appearance in the season series.
While Embiid will likely remain out for multiple games at least, as he recovers from appendicitis, George will hopefully be able to continue his strong play since returning from suspension in the Sixers playoff games.
For the Celtics, two key players have not played much against the Sixers this season. First, the Celtics acquired Nikola Vucevic at the deadline from the Chicago Bulls, and he has only played in one game so far. On top of that, Jayson Tatum, perhaps one of the best players in the entire world, has not played in any of the games against the Sixers this season.
Tatum was doing his best to recover from an Achilles tear from last postseason and has been playing well since returning, averaging 21.8 points on 41.1% shooting from the field.
While the Sixers may ultimately not end up winning this playoff series, the idea that the Celtics will simply skip to victory is overstated. The Sixers have one of the best backcourts in the league and a future Hall of Fame forward looking the best he has since joining Philadelphia.
The Celtics are a tough matchup and deserve respect for how they’ve been playing this year, but the Philadelphia 76ers aren’t going to go down easily. The team needs players like Quentin Grimes and Justin Edwards to step up if they want any chance of seeing Joel Embiid play.
If the Sixers can replicate what worked in their wins, limiting turnovers, controlling the glass, and getting efficient backcourt play, they have a path to making this series competitive.
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