Halftime Hot Takes: It certainly could be worse

Right?

We’re halfway through the first half of holiday hoops in Boston, and I’ve got to say, I’ve seen better starts for the Celtics. Through 24 minutes, they’ve been pretty sloppy but only trail the Philadelphia 76ers by eight points.

Now, get ready for some Halftime Hot Takes, buddy.

Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images

Doing a “White-Out” when the away team is wearing white might be a new low

Listen, no one loves to complain about Celtics/NBA uniforms quite like I do. I will fight against Nike’s tradition erasure until my final days.

Though today’s gripe does have to do with the uniforms, it’s more with the t-shirt giveaway. On a day when the Celtics are wearing green (with red accessories in spirit of the holiday) and the 76ers are wearing white, Boston decided to give out white t-shirts to every fan at the game.

This is simply ridiculous. The team could’ve easily made the same shirts but with a green base instead of white. They could even have added red lettering if they wanted to be festive.

The mismatched jersey/t-shirt combination clearly affected the Celtics early. They had six turnovers in the opening quarter.

Against the 76ers, Al Horford will be there no matter what

“I will be there no matter what.” — Killian Mbape — Al Horford.

Horford has been the bane of Sixers fans’ existence for years now. Whether he’s been a member of the Celtics or 76ers, he has caused them plenty of pain. Christmas Day has been no different so far.

While the Cs struggled as a whole to start this game, Big Al was money. He’s scored 12 quick points, knocking down a trio of triples in the first quarter and then one more in the second.

As always, the big man was given the responsibility of defending former MVP, Joel Embiid — something he’s been consistently good at. Embiid hasn’t been able to do much inside against Horford in this game, scoring the majority of his points from the outside.

Caleb Martin is to the Celtics what Al Horford is to the 76ers

This first half has given me PTSD to the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. Caleb Martin is in the building, folks. A guy with the most broken jumper you’ve ever seen somehow continues to be a nuisance to the Celtics.

Martin, who is shooting 30% from beyond the arc this season, sank a pair of triples and threw down a putback dunk in traffic for eight first-half points.

You can just about count on some nonsense from him anytime he’s facing off against the Celtics.