We have a Christmas present for you…in the middle of August…more than four months before actual Christmas: The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics will square off in the Big Apple on December 25.
This news comes via The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor:
Hearing the Celtics and Knicks will play on Christmas Day in New York.
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) August 10, 2016
This marks a triumphant return to the Christmas Day slate for the Knicks, who missed out on the festivities last year for obvious reasons (they weren’t very good). The Celtics didn’t make an appearance on the schedule last year either, perhaps because few expected them to be as fun and good and electric as they actually were.
Some will be disappointed that the Knicks are playing the Chicago Bulls. After all, their offseason is the entire reason why they’ve earned a Christmas Day bid, and that offseason consisted largely of poaching former Bulls. New York traded for Derrick Rose and signed Joakim Noah. (No word yet on if they’re trying to coax Richard Hamilton out of retirement).
But while the Bulls would be a fitting opponent, this just means that the New York-Chicago sparring will take place earlier in the year. We could have two matchups under our belt by Christmas Day, one of which would surely be Rose’s and Noah’s returns to Chicago. And that’s not a bad thing at all.
As for who will win this Christmas Day grudge match, come talk to us in December, after we’ve seen the Knicks and Celtics go a few rounds with other teams. (Okay, the Celtics will probably take this one). Regardless of who wins, Boston and New York are typically good for an entertaining head-to-head affair. The rivalry isn’t what it once was, and Kevin Garnett won’t be walking through that door to reignite it, but the historical bad blood between these two organizations always tends to rule the day in some capacity.
