Getty Andre Iguodala defends Jayson Tatum during a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics.
The NBA schedule for the 2022-23 season is slated to drop on Wednesday, but details about the league’s game calendar have already been bubbling to the surface. For Golden State Warriors fans, the first major reveal came over the weekend when Marc Stein revealed that the preliminary schedule had pitted the Dubs against the Grizz on Christmas Day.
Golden State star Draymond Green and Memphis cornerstone Ja Morant were clearly over the moon about the news.
“We got what we wanted dray,” tweeted Morant, to which Green responded, “That’s the power of your voice Young! Let’s goooo! Bring the fam to the crib for dinner after.”
Given what transpired between the two teams during the playoffs, a Warriors-Grizzlies bout on the league’s biggest day will be a must-see affair. However, that particular bit of scheduling represents a break from the tradition of putting a Finals rematch on in the featured Christmas spot.
Dub Nation won’t have to wait too long into the new campaign to see the Warriors-Celtics rivalry rekindled, though.
Shams: Warriors, Celtics Will Square Off for the First Time in Early December
Per a report from Shams Charania on Monday, league schdule-makers still have designs on giving the defending champions a bout with the runners-up from the Eastern Conference during the holiday season. According to The Athletic’s league insider, Steph Curry and his crew will host Jayson Tatum and Co. at Chase Center on December 10.
The home-and-home series will then conclude with a showdown at the Garden in Boston around the season’s mid-point on January 19.
In the wake of Charania’s report, fans on both sides of the rivalry offered a myriad of takes on the scheduling via Twitter. As one might exepct, the smack talk is already flowing.
“I might have to go to GSW in December and let them software engineers know that we taking that title this year,” wrote one avid Celtics supporter.
“Glad they are so much before the playoffs because celtics have been known for purposely injuring warriors players,” commented another fan.
“This should be opening night or Christmas day,” lamented a third observer. “The NBA schedule has been trash the last couple of years.”
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C’s Should Be Extra Motivated to Win
Clearly, the Warriors were the better team during last season’s championship finale and Steph Curry was magical en route to winning his first-ever Finals MVP trophy. That said, the Celtics will undoubtedly be looking to give Golden State a beating when the teams are back on the court together.
In the wake of their Finals loss, Boston’s key cogs were despondent over what went down.
“This is tough, getting to this point and not accomplishing what we wanted to. It hurts,” said Jayson Tatum. “You know, we all could have done things better. I feel like I could have done a lot of things better… Being with this group, the things we’ve overcome throughout the season, getting to this point. Just knowing how bad we wanted it, coming up short. It’s a terrible feeling.”
Added Jaylen Brown: “Tough day for Boston. Tough day for the Celtics. Yeah, I don’t know what to say.”
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