Celtics Host 76ers in Preseason With Four Players Listed for Rest

Now listen, sweetheart, pour yourself a cup of tea, because it's October and the basketball is back. Not the real kind yet, mind you. This is preseason, the Celtics against the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern at TD Garden. I'm not going to tell you it's a barnburner before anybody's laced up.

The records, such as they are

The Celtics are 0-0, which is what everybody is in October. The 76ers come in at 1-0 overall and 1-0 against their conference, so they've already got a game under their belt and we don't. I'm not going to make a big thing of it. One game is one game, and nobody's handing out banners for a preseason win. But I do like a team that's shaken the rust off, and I'd be fibbing if I said I didn't notice.

Who's sitting

Here's the part that'll have you squinting at the injury report. Four Celtics are listed day-to-day, all for the same reason: rest. That's Jayson Tatum, Paul George, Derrick White and Neemias Queta. Rest, not injury, and that's a different animal entirely. I'm not mad about it. It's October, and you don't wear out the good china for a dress rehearsal.

What it means is that somebody else gets the minutes. Preseason is when the back of the roster gets its audition, and I'll be watching who looks like they belong. Old-school me wants to see crisp passing, hands on the ball on defense, and nobody forcing it. The scoreboard matters a lot less than the fundamentals tonight.

The 76ers have a longer list, and it's the sadder kind:

• Ariel Hukporti (C) is out with a ruptured Achilles. That's a rough one, and I wish him a good recovery.
• Adem Bona (C) is day-to-day with a foot sprain.
• Dominick Barlow (F) is day-to-day with a back issue.
• Tacko Fall (C) is day-to-day with a hip issue.
• Anfernee Simons (G) is day-to-day, with the injury listed as undisclosed.

Philadelphia is light on big men if the day-to-day guys don't go, and that's just my read of the list. Take it as opinion.

How to watch

When: Saturday, Oct. 10, 8:00 p.m. ET Where: TD Garden, Boston Broadcast: NBA TV

Our take

Honestly, I'd put the tea down and not get too attached to a result here. With four Celtics resting and the 76ers dealing with their own bumps, this is going to be a game of shuffled rotations. If I had to pick, and you know I will, I'll say Boston at home gets it done, mostly because the building is theirs. But I'd hold that prediction loosely, sweetheart, same as the 76ers' 1-0 record. Come regular season, we'll talk.