The opening game of the 2025-26 NBA season between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Arena

progresifjaya.co.id, JAKARTA – The Philadelphia 76ers inflicted their first loss of the 2025-2026 NBA season on the Boston Celtics, 116-117, at home at TD Garden. Despite the absence of Paul George and Jared McCain, Tyrese Maxey put on a brilliant performance with 40 points from 7/9 three-point range. Rookie VJ Edgecombe added 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists, becoming the 76ers’ leading scorer in an NBA debut since Wilt Chamberlain in 1959.

Joel Embiid, on the other hand, had a different game. The game against the Boston Celtics was one of the worst of his career. The 2023 NBA MVP played just 20 minutes, but he only made one of his nine shots. The rest came from 2/2 free throws. Embiid finished the game with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block. Embiid had a -16 rating.

Even so, 76ers coach Nick Nurse continued to find positives in Embiid’s first appearance in eight months. Nurse was happy to see Embiid back on the court, despite his concerning performance.

“I’m glad Joel played. I thought he played well. I know 1/9 shooting sounds ridiculous. He just wasn’t shooting well. I thought he passed the ball well, made some good decisions, and protected the rim,” Nurse said on Thursday (October 23rd).

Embiid, the league MVP and the 76ers’ leading scorer three years ago, has had worse plus-minuses in his career. However, today’s game against the Boston Celtics marked the first time the 76ers have recorded a -16 rating or worse when Embiid played less than 21 minutes.

Embiid’s condition remains a concern. Embiid hasn’t been able to do much offensively. Physically, the 2-meter-tall, 136-kg player is also unable to perform basic jumping movements on defense.

A left knee injury continues to plague Embiid. The injury has hampered his performance for the past two seasons. Last season, he only played 19 games. Meanwhile, across the two seasons, he has played 58 games. Embiid’s last game was on February 22nd against the Brooklyn Nets.

Embiid has undergone four meniscus surgeries on his left knee and three foot surgeries. It’s certainly no easy feat for a professional NBA basketball player to bounce back from that many surgeries.

“So again, that doesn’t mean he’s done much, right? Embiid has only played in practice and preseason games. I think there’s a little bit of an issue there. I think he’s still moving well. He’s making good decisions, which is a positive sign,” Nurse added.

Boston’s Defense Has a Lot to Work On

The opening game of the 2025-26 NBA season between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers at TD Arena

Starting the 2025-26 season opener, the Boston Celtics appeared to be cruising to a victory when they took an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the Green Machine franchise surrendered 42 points in the final 12 minutes and ultimately lost 117-116.

“I don’t know if we’re too focused on the offensive side. But we also can’t let players come in here and do whatever they want,” Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown told reporters while discussing the team’s defensive issues on Thursday (October 23rd).

Normally, Brown continued, holding Joel Embiid to just four points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field is a recipe for an easy win against the 76ers. Especially with Paul George also out due to injury. However, he also admitted his team couldn’t match the duo of Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

As is known, Maxey contributed 40 points thanks to seven three-pointers. Meanwhile, Edgecombe shot 34 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field.

Conceding 40 points to Maxey is understandable. He’s a dangerous playmaker who averaged 26.3 points per game last season. But conceding that many points to Edgecombe was certainly difficult for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla to accept. Because Edgecombe was just making his NBA regular season debut as a rookie.

Edgecombe was the No. 3 pick in the 2025 NBA draft. In his rookie debut, he finished with the most points since Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain, who scored 43 points in 1959. Chamberlain won MVP and Rookie of the Year in his first season, averaging 37.6 points per game.

Edgecombe won’t end his first NBA season with those awards. But this will be a key contributor for the 76ers, especially with Embiid and George recovering from injuries. Edgecombe has also proven capable of leading the offense for long periods against fellow Eastern Conference rivals.

And he has also given the Boston Celtics plenty of work to improve their defense. (Bembo)