NBA Schedule 2019-20: Ranking Christmas Day games by watchability
By Kareem Gantt
5. Celtics at Raptors (12 p.m. ET on ESPN)
The first matchup of the day takes us to Jurassic Park, and it’s also probably the least watchable game of the day.
It was a no-brainer for the NBA to put the Toronto Raptors on Christmas Day as the defending champs. However, their Christmas Day games against the Kemba Walker-led Boston Celtics doesn’t quite feel like a Titanic matchup between two Eastern Conference heavyweights, and the main reason for that is Kawhi Leonard.
With Leonard now in Los Angeles trying to get the Clippers their first taste of ultimate NBA success, the Raptors are in an odd spot this upcoming season. They still have enough talent to compete in the East, but they’re not a championship-level team, even if Pascal Siakam takes a major leap into stardom (as expected).
Without Lenoard, their matchup against the re-tinkered Celtics just seems more like Christmas Day filler than a difference-making game. Speaking of the Celtics, it will be interesting to see where they will be when they make the trek to Toronto for this tilt. With Walker replacing Kyrie Irving as the face of the franchise, there may be less internal friction, but losing Kyrie and Al Horford means Boston could easily take a step back this year.
The Celtics-Raptors matchup will be fun to watch, but it doesn’t have the sizzle as the other four games on the list.