The red-hot Philadelphia 76ers put a perfect record on the line Friday night as they welcome Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics in the group stage of the 2025-’26 NBA Cup.

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 challenge is they're going to come with a different mentality," Justin Edwards said. "We beat them at home in the opener. We just got to try to build off of what we did last game and then add the pieces that we have and the film that we've been watching just trying to put into the game."

Back-to-back wins have quickly changed the narrative surrounding the Boston Celtics. Joe Mazzulla's team got off to a 0-3 start, but victories over the New Orleans Pelicans and Cleveland Cavaliers have shown signs of life within the young and unproven rotation.

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.

The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics meet Wednesday night at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.

Headlined by AJ Dybantsa and Cameron Boozer, non-contending teams around the league will undoubtedly be tempted by the notion of tanking for a potential lottery pick. The Boston Celtics could be one of those franchises,

Former Timberwolves second-round pick and reserve forward Josh Minott, who could never truly crack the rotation in Minnesota, is now seizing an opportunity and breaking out as a starter with the Boston Celtics early in the 2025-26 season.