The Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets have announced their first fives for Saturday night's encounter between the two proud squads, both of whom have righted t

The Philadelphia 76ers will take on the rival Boston Celtics on Friday to begin NBA Cup group play looking to stay unbeaten.

The Sixers are off to a flying start on the season, and our NBA betting picks believe they'll rack up another win and cover vs. the Celtics tonight. Free Celtics vs. 76ers predictions for October 31,

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

The Boston Celtics have rebounded from an 0-3 start to the regular season to win three consecutive games. Coming into their Saturday matchup against the Houston Rockets, the Celtics got several injury updates for a couple of key players including Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, as per the NBA’s official injury report.

Embiid was not happy with the loss, of course, but still took pleasure in the big comeback his team was almost able to pull off against the Celtics in the second half. "I'm excited, because I feel like we grew up," he explained via CLNS Media before pivoting to laud the 76ers' opponent.

Regarding the tanking aspect, however, head coach Joe Mazzulla didn't even want to bring that up, saying that he doesn't pay attention to it and that he has a responsibility to the fans in Boston and the players in Boston to go out every single night and do his best job to ensure the team has a chance to win.

Joel Embiid dissects the team's defensive struggles after the Philadelphia 76ers fall to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Cup.