Philadelphia 76ers (10-17) at Boston Celtics (22-7) Game #30 12/25/24

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers clash in a Christmas Day game between division rivals.

The Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers for a Christmas Day matchup. This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will meet twice in Philadelphia on February 2 and February 20 and they will face off for a second time in Boston on March 6. The Celtics won the series 3-1 last season with the 76ers winning the first meeting in Philadelphia and the Celtics winning the final 3 games of the season.

The 76ers had a rather large turnover in players this season and that may be one reason for their struggles this season so far. They added Paul George, Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond, Eric Gordon and Guerschon Yabusele. They also drafted Jared McCain and Adem Bona. They lost Mo Bamba, Robert Covington, Tobias Harris, Buddy Hield, Cameron Payne, Paul Reed, Nicolas Batum, Darius Bazley and DeAnthony Melton.

Although Joel Embiid says that this is not a rivalry because the Celtics always win, it definitely has the makings of being a divisional rivalry. The Celtics are 270-197 overall all time against the 76ers and they are 157-56 all time in games played in Boston. The Celtics and 76ers have met 22 times in NBA playoff history. Of those 22 playoff series, the Celtics have won 15 of them.

The Celtics are 2nd in the East, and have dropped to 3.5 games behind the first place Cavaliers who have won their last 5 games. They are 3 games ahead of 3rd place New York, who won 4 straight games and 4 games ahead of 4th place Orlando, who just beat the Celtics on Monday. The Celtics are 11-4 at home and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They are 20-5 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are looking to get back on track after losing to the Magic on Monday.

The 76ers are 12th in the East. They were expected to challenge the Celtics at the top of the East, but not much has gone right for them so far and they sit 14.5 games out of first place. They are 4 games behind 6th place Miami and 1.5 games behind 10th place Detroit. They are 4 games ahead of 13th place Charlotte. They are 5-8 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They are 9-10 against Eastern Conference teams and are looking for their 2nd straight win.

After this Christmas Day game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics will complete a 4 game home stand. After Philly, they will face Indiana twice and then Toronto. They will then head out on a 4 game Western road trip through Minnesota, Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City and Denver. They will return home to face 2 more Western teams, Sacramento and New Orleans. They then head to Toronto before facing Orlando and Atlanta at home.

This Christmas Day game against the Celtics is the first game of a 6 game road trip for the 76ers. After this game, they will travel to Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Golden State and Brooklyn. After the road trip, they return home for 3 games where they will host Phoenix, Washington, and New Orleans. They then go back on the road for one game in Orlando and return home for games against Oklahoma City and New York.

The Celtics got Sam Hauser back on Monday after he sat out 3 games with back spasms. It seemed like the Celtics would finally have a full roster but at the last minute, Jayson Tatum was ruled out due to an illness. He is questionable for this game Derrick White has been added to the injury list with right hamstring tightness and is also questionable. Jrue Holiday is questonable with a right shoulder impingement. All 3 are listed as a game time decision. I’ve listed the regular starters hoping they are able to go. I’m not sure who would start if any or all are out.

The 76ers healthier than they have been for much of the season. Paul George has played just 17 of the 76ers 27 games and Joel Embiid has played just 8 of their 27 games. Maxey has played 21 of the 27 games. All 3 are expected to play in this game. Andre Drummond is questionable with a toe injury. Jarerd McCain is out with a knee injury and KJ Martin is out with a foot injury. Eric Gordon is probable with an injury to his mouth.

Probable Celtics Starters

Celtics Reserves
Luke Kornet
Al Horford
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jaden Springer
Jordan Walsh
Xavier Tillman
Sam Hauser

2 Way Players
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anton Watson

Injuries/Out
Derrick White (hamstring) questionable
Jrue Holiday (shoulder) questionable
Jayson Tatum (illness) questionable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Probable 76ers Starters

76ers Reserves
Adem Bona
Ricky Council IV
Reggie Jackson
Kyle Lowry
Caleb Martin

2-Way Players
Jeff Dowtin, Jr
Justin Edwards
Pete Nance

Injuries/Out
Andre Drummond (toe) questionable
Eric Gordon (mouth) probable
Jared McCain (knee) out
KJ Martin (foot) out

Head Coach
Nick Nurse

Key Matchups

Kristaps Porzingis vs Joel Embiid
Embiid has played just 8 games so far but is expected to be healthy for this game. He is averaging 20.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1 block per game. He is shooting 41.7% from the field and just 21.2% from beyond the arc. I expect to see Al Horford defending him for at least part of the time because in the past, he has been effective against him.

Jaylen Brown vs Paul George
This should be a good matchup between two of the better small forwards in the league. George is averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He is shooting 41.4% from the field and 33% from beyond the arc. Both of these players are good defenders and so that will make it harder for either one to score. Brown is coming off a big game on Monday and hopefully he will still be hot for this one.

Honorable Mention
Jrue Holiday vs Tyrese Maxey
Maxey has blossomed now that he has the keys to the team. Maxey is averaging 24.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. He is shooting 41.6% from the field and 33.7% from beyond the arc. He is very quick and difficult to stay with in the open court. I’m hoping that Holiday and White can both play. If not, we may see Payton Pritchard get the start.

Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense will always be key to winning every game. The Celtics are 7th in the league with a defensive rating of 109.3. The 76ers are 13th with a defensive rating of 112.2. The 76ers are 29th in the league, averaging 105.9 points per game. The Celtics are 4th, averaging 119.1 points per game. The Celtics need to increase their efforts on the defensive end even more. They have to make defense their priority for every possession of the game because that is how they are going to win.

Rebound – Rebounding is second to defense as a key to winning. The Celtics are 8th in the league, pulling down 45.1 rebounds per game while the 76ers are 28th with 40.6 rebounds per game. It takes effort to get rebounds and the Celtics must go all out in their effort to beat the Sixers on the boards. The Celtics also need to give themselves extra possessions by rebounding on the offensive end and keep the 76ers from getting 2nd chance points on the defensive end. If the Celtics want to win this one, it is crucial that they go all out to crash the boards.

Play Hard 48 Minutes – The Celtics have to start out strong and play hard for 48 minutes, right up until the final buzzer. The Celtics also must play hard throughout the game and not get complacent if they are up. The Celtics can’t let the 76ers build a lead and they can’t let up if they can build a lead themselves. The Celtics at times tend to play down to teams with bad records or who are missing players, but they can’t do that with these 76ers because they have enough talent to beat them if they give less than 100% effort. They have to play hard from the opening tip until the final buzzer with no let up. Also the team that is more aggressive and plays harder usually gets the better whistle from the refs.

3 Point Shooting – The Celtics lead the league in 3 pointers attempted per game with 50.4 per game. They also lead the league in 3 pointers made at 18.3 per game. When the 3’s are falling the Celtics are tough to beat, but when the 3’s aren’t falling, they look terrible. Against the Magic, the Celtics took just 33 three pointers and made just 8 of them. They won’t beat many teams shooting less than 25% from beyond the arc. The Celtics have to focus on taking good shots and making them and if the 3’s aren’t falling once again, go to the basket.

X-Factors
Home Game – The Celtics have been a good home team with just 4 losses at home so far this season. The 76ers are 5-8 on the road so far. Teams strive to get home court advantage for a reason and the Celtics need to take advantage of having the crowd behind them and being on their home court. Hopefully the 76ers are distracted by travel, a hotel stay, and a hostile crowd.

Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. Some hand out technicals like Christmas candy. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow the no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.

And make sure to check out CelticsBlog’s Playback stream for a live conversation about the game. To participate, just create a free account, connect your LP sub if you have it, and join our community.