Is Boston Waiting For Derrick White Christmas Against Philadelphia?

Boston has played on Christmas Day for 8 years in a row, and tonight they play for the 9th^th. They face Philadelphia 76ersa great rival, even though Joel Embiid and I haven’t seen that much of a rivalry in the Jays era. Philly is off to a shaky start this season with an underwhelming 10-17 record.

They’ve seen a series of injuries plague their roster and create uncertainty on a night-to-night basis, but the Celtics have some uncertainty of their own for tonight’s festivities. Jayson Tatum (illness), Jrue Holiday (shoulder) and Derrick White (hamstring) are all listed as questionable for a variety of minor ailments.

Beyond the lineups, however, there are some even bigger questions.

Have the Celtics been naughty or nice this year?

Will Boston and its fans finish the game soaking in the festivities, or will they go home to a stocking full of coal? The Celtics have won 6 of their last 9 Christmas games, including the last two they played. They also haven’t lost back-to-back games all season, and ending the streak tonight against a rival and undermatched team like the 76ers would certainly put a damper on things. If the Celtics remembered to leave the Jaylen-Kristaps cookies and cream combo for Santa, they should be in good shape, but we’ll have to wait and see the results.

Which team spreads the most Christmas cheer?

Every year, the NBA microphones a player from each team during the Christmas games, so we can get a glimpse of how they celebrate on the court. From wishing the fans to sharing the love between the teams, it’s always nice to listen to the players get into the Christmas spirit despite facing each other in a heated match. While it won’t show up in the box office, perhaps the most impactful stat of the night to watch is which team is capable of spreading more Christmas cheer.

The Celtics appear to have a leg up. Joe Mazzulla set the tone early with his emphatic wishes for the refs against the Bulls last week. If he’s aggressive out of the gate tonight, I’d already consider this a game won. Boston also has guys like Jrue Holiday and Derrick White who have been in theme with their last names since birth. At a moment’s notice, the Celtics could also turn to Xavier Tillman to play for X-mas. We can’t go without mentioning that Boston also has one of the funniest guys not named Santa, Luke Kornet.

However, Philadelphia has some happy guys in Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, although unfortunately McCain is out for the season after tearing his MCL. In addition to those two, after his stellar Olympic performance over the summer, the Sixers picked up former Celtics draft pick Guerschon Yabusele. Yabu just might be Philly’s secret weapon as he has one of my favorite nicknames, the dancing bear. Given the season, we may see him go Polar tonight.

It will be a tough match between the two teams, for sure.

Who will give Celtics fans the (second) best gift of the night?

Everyone knows that a win from their favorite team is the best gift fans can receive, but with a game like this, I’m sure we’ll be in for at least one other big treat. Maybe we’ll see Jaylen stuff Embiid in a stocking with an ugly poster like Tatum did with Giannis last year. Or maybe Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Kristaps Porzingis will make it snow with an avalanche of threes. Maybe Jrue Holiday and Derrick White will bring us some (gingerbread) cookies while they pick the pockets of Sixers players. Whatever it is, I’m sure Celtics fans will be happy.