Celtics play against the 76ers on Christmas Day – it will be a disaster or the game of the year

On Thursday evening, Shams Charania of The Athletic has released the NBA's Christmas Day schedule, and the Boston Celtics will host the newly formed Philadelphia 76ers in what will be their ninth consecutive Christmas game since 2016.

Boston will field the same squad that won the championship last season, but the Sixers will bring in reinforcements. signed: Paul George this summer and brought in guys like Caleb Martin, Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon.

The two teams have been rivals for decades, although Boston has dominated the matchup in recent years. Philadelphia hasn't beaten Boston in a playoff series since 1982.

Still, it's always fun when the two teams go head to head, but this year's Christmas game could go one of two ways: a complete disaster or the game of the year.

Too often, injuries get in the way. Kristaps Porzingis will miss the first half of the season. In addition, Paul George has an injury history and Joel Embiid has a worse one than his new teammate.

Add in the possibility of Al Horford sitting out or other players getting injured, and this game could go nowhere very quickly. But if everything goes according to plan, it has the potential to be one of the best games of the regular season.

Let's say Embiid and George are healthy. That's entirely possible, because the Sixers could try to rest them both for such a big night. That would be the first step.

But what would really make this game climax is if Porzingis would return for it. It is directly around the timeline that he could return from his injuryand bringing him back for a prime-time competition would be a very fun idea for Boston.

If these two expectations come true, the game, which is already one of the most watched of the regular season, would become an absolute must-see for every NBA fan.

It's still a long wait until the Celtics and the 76ers face each other on Christmas Day, but the mere thought of such a highly acclaimed duel should generate great anticipation among fans.