The Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers for a game on Christmas Day. This is the first of four games between these two teams this season. They will meet twice in Philadelphia on February 2nd and 20th and will meet for the second time in Boston on March 6th. 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 have had a fairly high turnover this season, and that could be a reason for their struggles so far this season. There were also 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 this isn’t a rivalry because the Celtics always win, it definitely has the makings of a division rivalry. The Celtics are 270-197 overall against the 76ers and 157-56 in games played in Boston. The Celtics and 76ers have met 22 times in NBA playoff history. The Celtics have won 15 of these 22 playoff series.

The Celtics are second in the East and are 3.5 games behind the first-place Cavaliers, who have won their last five games. They are 3 games ahead of third-place New York, who have won four games in a row, and 4 games ahead of fourth-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’re looking to get back on track after Monday’s loss to the Magic.

The 76ers are in 12th place in the East. They were expected to challenge the Celtics at the top of the East, but not much has been going for them so far and they are 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 Charlotte, which is in 13th place. 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 second straight win.

After this Christmas game against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics will play a four-game homestand. After Philly, they face Indiana twice and then Toronto. They then embark on a 4-game western road trip through Minnesota, Ime Udoka’s Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City and Denver. They return home to face two more Western teams: Sacramento and New Orleans. They then travel to Toronto before playing at home against Orlando and Atlanta.

This Christmas game against the Celtics is the first game of a 6-game road trip for the 76ers. After this game, they travel to Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Golden State and Brooklyn. After the road trip, they return home for three games where they face Phoenix, Washington and New Orleans. They then hit the road again for a game in Orlando and return home for games against Oklahoma City and New York.

The Celtics brought back Sam Hauser on Monday after he missed three games with back spasms. It seemed like the Celtics finally had a complete roster, but at the last minute Jayson Tatum was forced out due to illness. He is questionable for this game. Derrick White was placed on the injured list with a right hamstring strain and is also questionable. Jrue Holiday is vulnerable due to right shoulder impingement. All 3 are listed as game time decisions. I have listed the regular starters and hope that they can take part. I’m not sure who would start if some or all were dropped.

The 76ers are healthier than they have been for most of the season. Paul George has only played 17 of the 76ers’ 27 games and Joel Embiid has only played 8 of their 27 games. Maxey played 21 of the 27 games. All three are expected to take part 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 probably has an injury in his mouth.

Likely Celtics starters

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

2-way player
JD Davison
Drew Peterson
Anthony Watson

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

Head coach
Joe Mazzulla

Likely 76ers starters

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

2-way player
Jeff Dowtin, Jr
Justin Edwards
Pete Nance

Injuries/losses
Andre Drummond (toe) questionable
Eric Gordon (mouth) probably
Jared McCain (knee) is out
KJ Martin (foot) out

Head coach
Nick Nurse

Key Matches

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

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 shoots 41.4% from the field and 33% from distance. Both players are good defenders and that makes it more difficult for either of them to score. Brown had a big game on Monday and hopefully is still fired up.

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 shoots 41.6% from the field and 33.7% from distance. He is very fast and it is difficult to keep him in the public square. I hope both Holiday and White can play. If not, Payton Pritchard could start.

Key to the game
defense – Defense will always be the key to victory in any game. The Celtics rank 7th in the league with a defensive rating of 109.3. The 76ers rank 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 with an average of 119.1 points per game. The Celtics need to step up their defensive efforts. They must make defense their priority on every possession because that is the only way they will win.

rebound – In addition to defense, rebounding is the key to victory. The Celtics are 8th in the league with 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 will have to do their best to beat the Sixers on the boards. The Celtics also need to gain more possession by rebounding on offense and prevent the 76ers from scoring second chance points on defense. If the Celtics want to win this game, it’s crucial that they do their best to crash the boards.

Play hard 48 minutes – The Celtics need to start strong and play hard for 48 minutes until the final whistle. The Celtics also need to play hard throughout the game and not get complacent when they have the lead. The Celtics can’t let the 76ers build a lead, and they can’t let up when they can build a lead themselves. The Celtics sometimes have a tendency to play down against teams with poor records or 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. You have to play hard from the opening tip to the final whistle and not let up. Additionally, the team that is more aggressive and plays harder usually gets the better whistle from the referees.

3-point shooting – The Celtics lead the league in 3-pointer attempts per game with 50.4 per game. They also lead the league in 3 points scored (18.3 per game). When the 3s fall, the Celtics are tough to beat, but when the 3s don’t fall, they look terrible. Against the Magic, the Celtics took just 33 three-pointers and made only 8 of them. They won’t beat many teams that shoot less than 25% from distance. The Celtics need to focus on taking good shots and executing them, and if the threes aren’t falling again, they’ll go to the basket.

X factors
Home game – The Celtics have been a good home team with only four home losses so far this season. The 76ers are 5-8 on the road so far. Teams strive to gain 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 will be distracted by travel, a hotel stay and a hostile crowd.

Officiating – Officiating is always an x-factor. Each team calls the game differently. Some call it “tight” and demand every little contact, while others allow more physical play. Some prefer the home team, while others consider both sides to be equal. Some hand out technical items like Christmas candy. The Celtics must adapt to the way the referees call the game and not allow no-calls and bad calls to affect their focus on the game.

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