The Boston Celtics, by virtue of winning the Eastern Conference championship and coming within two games of the NBA Championship, will be one of the featured teams for the league on opening night and Christmas day.
Boston is already a fixture on Xmas, aka the unofficial start of when the sports world pays attention to the ‘Association’ given the presence of both college and NFL football throughout the September-December months. Now, with the most successful season for the NBA’s co-winningest franchise in the immediate rearview and a possible Kevin Durant trade on the horizon, the Cs are the talk of the town.
So who will the Celtics face during the most important dates on their regular season calendar as they embark on another year-long journey for Banner 18?
MassLive’s Brian Robb answered that question in his latest Boston Celtics Mailbag, revealing that the Cs will most likely face postseason opponents from this past spring/summer on both opening night and Christmas day:
"“No shortage of options for opening night for the NBA with the Celtics. Do they go Nets-Celtics given the trade rumors swirling over the past month? Celtics-Bucks or Celtics-Heat are fun choices as well given how those matchups went down last postseason. I’d put my money on two of those three making up the opening night and Christmas slate.”"
The Brooklyn Nets are a money matchup against the Boston Celtics no matter what if Kyrie Irving stays put
Obviously, an Eastern Conference rematch with the Miami Heat and a battle against a Milwaukee Bucks team at full strength make for the most competitive matchups and could be seen as bellwether games in the east, but nothing is juicier than taking on the team they swept out of the playoffs in April after being eliminated the year prior, the Brooklyn Nets.
While Kevin Durant could end up on a Western Conference squad like the Phoenix Suns or the New Orleans Pelicans, or even as Jayson Tatum’s co-star on the Celtics, he has nothing to do with why the Nets are public enemy No. 1 and the money matchup to make.
No, Kyrie Irving is the reason. As long as he’s in Brooklyn, the league will continue to link these two franchises separated by 200 miles.