Thursday afternoon the Boston Celtics will rendezvous with the Philadelphia 76ers in London for an international matchup at The O2 Arena.
So far this season, the NBA has played a pair of regular season games in Mexico City, with this game closing out the 2017-2018 "Global Games" schedule. And back in October, the NBA played a few preseason games over in China, as part of the series. Also, this will be the NBA's eighth regular season game over in London.
Thursday’s game for the Celtics will mark their second international regular season game (Mexico City, 2015), along with their second visit to the capital of England (October 2007).
Since flying overseas on Monday, the Celtics have had a couple opportunities to get in some practice time before tomorrow's divisional matchup.
Day One of Practice:
First practice in London is underway pic.twitter.com/ixUWRSgh3z
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 9, 2018
Day Two of Practice:
Bigs are back to work pic.twitter.com/Fw8Sa2ErG6
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 10, 2018
Entering tomorrow's game, the Celtics (33-10) and 76ers (19-19) have met twice so far this season, with the C's taking both games in somewhat convincing fashion. Now the Celtics have a chance to take their winning streak international as they try to win their seventh in a row, since last playing on Saturday night. The 76ers on the other hand, haven't played since Friday and are riding a four-game winning streak themselves.
Coming into the break, Al Horford is leading the team, shooting a whopping 52 percent from the field and 7.8 rebounds. Potential Rookie of Year Jayson Tatum ranks fourth in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage with an impressive 46 percent. And Kyrie Irving leads the team with 24.1 points-per-game and ranks just outside the top 10 in the NBA at number 12.
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You can catch the call of the game with Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell live on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Pre-game coverage begins at 2:30 p.m., with tip-off set for 3:00 p.m. EST.
Here's one last video for the flight...
Watch Terry Rozier III SLAM one down at the first day of practice:
Cameras come out, T-Ro’s putting on a show pic.twitter.com/lQ0JI5YAy4
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 9, 2018
After returning later this week, the C's won't play again until Tuesday when they welcome the New Orleans Pelicans to the TD Garden for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
-- By John 'The Dude' Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com