The Boston Celtics kick of their 2020-21 NBA preseason slate of two games with their first contest of the coming season, a friendly played against their Atlantic Division rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.
The game kicks off at 7:30 pm ET this Tuesday, Dec. 15, and the two foes have both retooled their respective rosters since they last met in the 2020 East Playoffs’ first round. Boston having moved on from forward Gordon Hayward while the 76ers added shooting to surround their core of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Philadelphia looks to be mostly healthy while Boston has several key players out — including point guard Kemba Walker and new center Tristan Thompson.
Walker, Thompson, Langford OUT vs 76ers; Theis questionable https://t.co/GFppuVkJkf
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 15, 2020
That said, it would be wise not to read much into the outcome for either team.
Both are going to use the tilt as something closer to an enhanced practice than a postseason scrap, with each team still working to cement their looming opening night rotations.
Expect a fair amount of deep rotation guys seeing floor time for both sides, and some occasionally bad basketball no matter who is on the floor as each team shakes off some rust.
Celtics vs 76ers preseason: live stream, how to watch, TV channel, start time https://t.co/xws4dfzoy4
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 14, 2020
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Even though the game is not exactly likely to be the most competitive of either club’s season, there’s still plenty of valuable things to be learned.
How will new 76ers head coach (and former Celtics coach) Doc Rivers manage his new team? How are they in turn responding?
Is the shooting they added real, and have stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons added any new wrinkles to their game?
And with Boston, there’s even more to be gleaned.
NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin to return to cover Celtics in ’20-’21 https://t.co/vmYa4RuRHA
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 14, 2020
Who gets the nod for starting and closing, how the team divides up minutes to end-of-the-bench guys, how much trust the rookies seem to have — and how well they can execute schemes and defend — are just a few examples.
There will likely be no major revelations, but if nothing else we’ll start to get an idea about how each team will look when the games actually count.
And most important of all — we get to watch the Celtics playing actual 5-on-5 basketball again.
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