In what should be a great clash on the hardwood two of the league's best teams take center stage as the Boston Celtics meet the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night inside the TD Garden in Boston, MA. They tip it off at 7:30 pm. 

Bookmaker has installed the Celtics as a solid 7.5 point favorite. 

The Celtics (14-4) have had a great start to the season and they have one of the deepest backcourts in the league. They are led on offense by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown who both have lit up the scoreboard. Tatum is netting 27 a game while Brown has stepped up big time too, scoring 21 a contest. Boston has won two straight and three of four overall. 

These two are the faces of the Celtics and Boston knows as they go, so does the success of the team. Boston has the look already of a team that is going to be a dangerous foe going forward and they have no loveloss for the Sixers. These two teams hate each other. 

Boston is a team that loves to push the pace and they will also look to get some easy buckets in transition. If they can catch the Sixers napping on defense they can get some easy points. They connect on 57% from the floor, including 38% from beyond the arc. 

The 76ers (12-6) have also enjoyed a ton of success this season as they have gotten off to a fast start too. They did drop their last outing on the floor, which was a 124-114 setback to the New Orleans Hornets. 

They were without the services of franchise center Joel Embiid who missed the game due to an illness and is listed as questionable for Friday's affair against Boston. They would be in trouble if he can not go, as they will lose a rim protector and presence in the lane.

Plus, that would mean the bulk of the scoring would fall back on the shoulders of Tyrese Maxey who is netting 27 a game and has emerged as a big time scoring threat. He has really stepped up his game and is very aggressive when it comes to attacking the tin. 

Embiid is having another monster start to a season as he is pouring in 32 a game and over the course of his career he has pumped in around 24 a game against the Celtics. They will look to slow the pace down and also look to get their perimeter shootings into the mix. 

Boston is 3-2 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number. They are also 2-6 in their road games against the number and the totals have gone over in two of their last five games, The totals have also gone over in three of their last eight games at home. The 76ers are 2-3 in their last five games and 2-3 in their last five games against the number. They are also 5-3 in their road games against the spread.