BOSTON — The Boston Celtics closed out 2024 with the biggest home win in franchise history, crushing the lowly Toronto Raptors by 54 points . Now the Celtics will open 2025 with their toughest test of the season.
Starting Thursday night, the Celtics will play four road games over six nights against teams they could potentially meet in the NBA Finals in a few months. (Assuming the Celtics hold up their end of the bargain, of course.) They’ll visit the Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Denver Nuggets on this mini-gauntlet of a road trip.
It will be a great test for the defending champs, who haven’t been playing their best basketball for several weeks. The Celtics are just 5-5 over their last 10 games, which included the team’s first losing streak of the season with back-to-back loses to the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers. Boston went just 8-6 in the month of December, with four of those loses coming on their home court…