After meeting in the second round of the playoffs last season, and again on opening night this season, the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics will renew their rivalry on Christmas Day.
Although, as Joel Embiid said after the Sixers’ loss to the Celtics on opening night, it hasn’t been much of a rivalry recently. “They always kick our ass,” the big man said. And he’s right. Since the 2016-17 season, which is when Embiid first suited up for the Sixers, the Celtics are 11-3 in their matchups, including the playoffs.
Since that opening night loss though, the Sixers have been the better team, as the Celtics have struggled to figure things out with the reintegration of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward. With all of the talent that will be on the floor, as well as the history between these two groups, this should be a fun matchup.
How to watch 76ers at Celtics
- Date: Tuesday, Dec. 25
- Time: 5:30 p.m. ET
- Location: TD Garden — Boston, Massachusetts
- TV: ABC
- Live stats: GameTracker
- Odds: Celtics -4
76ers at Celtics story lines:
76ers: After a bit of a disappointing start to the season, Philly decided to go all-in and acquire Jimmy Butler. Since then, the 76ers are 14-5, and are fresh off a 25-point win over the Kawhi Leonard-less Raptors. Going up against their nemesis, the Celtics, on Christmas will be a great test for this team. They’ll be eager to prove that they’re capable of beating this Celtics bunch — especially on the road.
Celtics: After struggling to a 10-10 start this season, the Celtics rattled off eight straight wins, and everyone thought they may have figured things out. Then they went and lost three in a row, including a game to the lowly Suns at home, which showed they still have some problems to fix. The good news is they have Al Horford and Marcus Morris back in the lineup, and their team meeting seems to have worked, as they crushed the Hornets on Sunday. Just as this matchup is a big test for the Sixers, it will be for the Celtics as well. It’s been over a month since they’ve beat a team currently holding a playoff spot in either conference.
Game prediction, pick:
This is a tough one to predict. On the one hand, the Celtics have owned the Sixers in recent seasons, but Philly has Jimmy Butler now, and have played better over the course of the season. Still, the Celtics are healthy and at home, and that should give them the slight edge. Pick the Celtics to win and cover.
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