NBA: Ranking the 2019 Christmas Day games
By Eliot Clough
5. Celtics vs Raptors
Before the NBA season started a year ago, this game would have easily been towards the top of this list. And all things considered, some may still see it as a game worth watching.
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However, with the departures of Kawhi Leonard from the Toronto Raptors and Kyrie Irving from the Boston Celtics, this game just doesn’t carry as much weight as it would have in 2018.
Jayson Tatum has begun to be viewed as overrated, Al Horford is no longer in Boston, we haven’t seen Kyle Lowry play without a bona fide superstar in his career and the second-best player on the Toronto roster is still an up-and-comer in Pascal Siakam.
While these rosters do have talent, the capability and depth simply aren’t there for them to make title runs, even in the lowly East in 2019-20.
On the high end for Boston and Toronto, maybe they surprise us all this coming season. After all, the Celtics did move the piece that many believe was holding them back in Kyrie Irving and added more of a team-centric point guard in Kemba Walker.
The absence of the ball-dominant guard may allow the young squad to move the ball much more.
And for the Raptors, much of the roster has returned for the reigning NBA champions. Maybe, the Toronto can muster together a season of success based on experience and toughness.