Resilience

The Celtics took a 2-1 lead following a gritty win in Philly

If I were to define the 2025-26 Boston Celtics in one word, it would be resilient. It’s a character trait they’ve shown time and time again throughout a season that was supposed to be a write-off.

Last night, that same character trait gave them the tools they needed to go up 2-1 in their opening round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.

To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43, How resilient is thee? Let me count the ways.

1. The Bounce Back

Game two was a tough loss. You only have to look toward the New York Knicks to see what going 1-2 down against a team you were expected to run through can do to a fanbase. No way did the Celtics want to deal with that.

Who would?

This was the first game to really feel like a playoff contest. Scrappy. Physical. Compact.

Boston was playing in Philadelphia, with a crowd full of fans daydreaming about sending you back to your hotel with a losing record in the series.

Tyrese Maxey got wherever he wanted on the court. Credit to Philly, they kept things close all game. Furthermore, every time it felt like the Celtics were going to pull ahead, Philly went on a run to tie things back up or take a slender lead.

That has to carry a certain level of demoralization throughout the roster.

Nevertheless, the Celtics keep chipping away. They didn’t allow themselves to get baited into playing outside of their system — as they did during game two when they started chasing homerun threes.

They didn’t get sped up when the fouls came quickly — both at the start of the game — and during some rough patches throughout.

And, they didn’t shy away from going back into their playbook when set actions failed to generate points on the board.

Boston stayed the course.

It battled.

It hustled.

Then, with the game winding down, the Celtics came up with some big moments, pulling away in the clutch, silencing the crowd and ensuring their trip back to the hotel would be a celebratory one.

2. Derrick White Comes Up Big

Derrick White has struggled since the start of the postseason. Unfortunately, last night’s game was no different. From the outside looking in, it appears that he’s having somewhat of a crisis of confidence.

Yet, in the final four minutes of the game, with the Celtics looking to build some separation, White came alive, snagging two key offensive rebounds.

The first board came with just over 4 minutes left on the clock. The Celtics had a two-point lead over Philly. Brown had driven the ball into the paint before spraying it out to Nikola Vucevic.

Miss.

Here comes White, tipping the ball back out to the perimeter, where it finds Jayson Tatum.

Brown ultimately gets the ball back and finishes off the play. Boston goes four points up.

The second key rebound came in an eerily similar fashion. Boston up by three. Clock ticking down. Tatum drives, kicks, Vooch misses, White gets the rebound and kicks it back out.

Tatum for 3.

Boston up by 6 points in the dying moments of the game.

What. A. Play.

Even with his overall impact being questioned, White found a way to remind everyone why he’s so important to the Celtics.

“I mean, anybody who ever doubts D-white, they don’t really care about winning,” Mazzulla said during his postgame news conference. “There’s a competitive confidence there. There’s a character piece there. He’s not defined just by shot-making. Did a tremendous job heading into game one. He defended like 54. pick and rolls, which is the most on the team, and he has to be able to do that for us to win. Those two rebounds were big-time rebounds, and he can impact winning in so many different ways. So, I’m always gonna double down on his competitive character, who he is.”

White’s competitive character is what helped him find the gear that led to those two rebounds. Does that mean his offensive struggles are going to be overlooked? I doubt it.

Those two rebounds are akin to getting an A in film studies while flunking Maths and Science. It’s a nice palette cleanser, but there’s still some work to be done.