The Celtics are playing their 38th Christmas Day game against a storied rival in the 76ers.
Boston has played on Christmas Day for 8 consecutive years, and tonight they play for the 9th. They face off against the Philadelphia 76ers, a storied rival, though Joel Embiid and I haven’t seen it as much of a rivalry in the era of the Jays. Philly has gotten off to a shaky start this season, holding an underwhelming record of 10-17.
They’ve seen a number of injuries plague their roster and create uncertainty from night to night, but the Celtics have a little uncertainty themselves for tonight’s festivities. Jayson Tatum (illness), Jrue Holiday (shoulder), and Derrick White (hamstring) are all listed as questionable for a variety of minor ailments.
Beyond the lineups, there are some even bigger questions, though.
Have the Celtics been naughty or nice this year?
Will Boston and its fans end the game soaking in the festivities, or will they go home to a stocking full of coal? The Celtics have won 6 of their last 9 Christmas games, including the last two they played. They also haven’t lost consecutive games all season, and ending the streak tonight against a rival, and a sub-par team like the 76ers would certainly put a damper on things. If the Celtics remembered to leave the Jaylen-Kristaps cookies and cream combo out for Santa they should be in good shape, but we’ll have to wait to see the results.
Which team will spread the most holiday cheer?
Each year, the NBA mics up a player from each team in the Christmas games so that we can get an inside peak at how they celebrate on the court. From wishing the fans, to sharing the love between teams, it’s always nice to listen in to the players getting in the Christmas spirit despite facing off in a heated matchup. Although it won’t show up in the box score, maybe the most impactful stat of the night to watch out for is which team is able to spread more holiday cheer.
The Celtics do seem to have a leg up. Joe Mazzulla set the tone early-on, with his emphatic wishes for the refs against the Bulls last week. If he’s aggressive out the gate tonight, I would already consider this a won battle. Boston also has guys like Jrue Holiday and Derrick White who have been in theme with their last names since birth. In a pinch, the Celtics can also turn to Xavier Tillman to play for X-mas. We can’t go without mentioning that Boston also has one of the jolliest fellows not named Santa Claus, Luke Kornet.
Philadelphia has some jolly fellows of their own, though, in Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, although McCain is unfortunately out for the season after tearing his MCL. Beyond those two, after his amazing Olympics performance over the summer, the Sixers brought in former-Celtics draft pick, Guerschon Yabusele. Yabu could just be Philly’s secret weapon, as he has one of my favorite nicknames, the Dancing Bear. Given the season, we may see him go Polar tonight.
It will be a tough matchup between the two teams, to be sure.
Who will gift Celtics fans with the (second) best present of the night?
Everyone knows that a win from their favorite team is the best present fans can receive, but with a matchup like this, I’m sure we’ll be in store for at least one other big treat. Maybe we see Jaylen stuff Embiid in a stocking with a nasty poster like Tatum did with Giannis last year. Or, maybe Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Kristaps Porzingis will make it snow with an avalanche of threes. Perhaps Jrue Holiday and Derrick White will bring us some (gingerbread) cookies as they pick the pockets of the Sixers players. Whatever it is, I’m sure Celtics fans will be delighted.