The Boston Celtics are still one of the league’s marquee teams despite supplanting Kyrie Irving and Al Horford with slightly less talented counterparts in Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter.
Now, as the most winningest franchise in NBA history because of their notoriety and marketability, Boston will be rewarded for their status with a game on Christmas Day.
For those who don’t know, the Christmas Day calendar often features the league’s best or most interesting teams. That said, the Celtics being listed alongside the Toronto Raptors, New Orleans Pelicans, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors is telling.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Celtics will face the Raptors in Toronto.
The Raptors are the defending NBA champions but without Kawhi Leonard, who defected to the Clippers, it’s not quite the challenge that it would have otherwise been.
Nonetheless, with Kyle Lowry, a resurgent Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol in tow, it’ll be a solid test for Boston. The Celtics’ core has only gotten younger and though the personalities of the players seem to mesh, on-court chemistry will come down to more than players liking each other.
One of the criticisms levied at Celtics head coach Brad Stevens last season was that he was unable to find lineups that fit ideally. As Stevens continues to lead the team, it’ll be interesting to see just how well Boston’s rotation works.
Besides the state of the team, the rotation,
