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After reports last night confirmed the slate of games for this season’s Christmas day schedule, it looks like the 76ers and Celtics are the new faces of the NBA.
NBA on Christmas Day should be
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 8, 2018
(First reported by @nytimes, confirmed by ESPN.) pic.twitter.com/4XZyhX0Woj
Today, the NBA has doubled down on the two Eastern Conference upstarts, as Sam Amick of USA Today Sports has confirmed early rumors of a 76ers-Celtics match-up to kick off the 2018-2019 NBA regular season.
More highlights from the NBA sked, per source: TNT tips off regular season on opening night with Sixers-Celtics in Boston at 8 pm EST, followed by Golden State-OKC (where Warriors get rings - again). First week, Christmas, & MLK day released by the league today at 2 pm EST.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) August 8, 2018
It’s nice to see that the league understands who its exciting young teams are. A follow-up of Warriors/Thunder is a solid West Coast bout as well. However, it is a bit lame to see that Boston has scored home games for both of these prime time slots. Understandably, the Sixers couldn’t host the Christmas day game due to Disney on Ice in Philly. However, it would have made sense to throw the team a bone and open up their season at home on TNT as a trade-off. Maybe Adam Silver is still upset about the whole Coleangelo saga and how it ended earlier this summer?
There will certainly be enough juice for this game regardless of where it is played. The return of Markelle Fultz and a reformed jumper. The additions of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to an Eastern Conference favorite in Boston. Tatum vs Simmons. Embiid vs Horford.
Either way, with these games announced, we are one step closer to meaningful basketball.