Your Morning Dump… Where the Celtics have a ‘daunting’ first two games

NBA: Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

We don’t know the starting lineup Brad will roll out for the Celtics’ first game on December 23rd, but we do know the opponent: The Milwaukee Bucks.

The Celtics will host the Milwaukee Bucks at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23, in the season opener for both teams. The game will air on TNT. The Dallas Mavericks head to Phoenix in the nightcap to play the Suns at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The league also announced its five-game lineup for Christmas, with the Celtics hosting Kyrie Irving and the Nets in the third game at 5 p.m. The complete game and national broadcast schedules for the first half of the regular season are due to be announced on Friday, Dec. 4.

The rest of the Christmas day slate should prove entertaining, but the new-look Nets, with Kyrie and KD back from injury should prove difficult for a team that may not have their starting point guard until March. That’s not looking past the opener, which features a revamped Bucks team who will likely be on a revenge tour after getting bounced early in the playoffs the last two years.

Buckle up!

On Page 2… Kemba is still a class act through the pain

Kemba spoke with the media yesterday about his stem cell injection, unsure of how the procedure will affect his timetable to return to the team.

“There’s no rush on my end,” said Walker. “I’m coming back when I need to come back, and when I’m feeling good to play. So that’s it.“

The timetable for Kemba’s knee to heal is sometime in January (which as Celtics fans, we’ve learned that January really means “End of March”), but there are seemingly many unknowns at this point according to Walker and certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts.

Just because an update is expected in January doesn’t mean his return is going to follow immediately after.

“You could see that time prolonged, but it could be potentially (a) little earlier, like late January,” Stotts said. “So much is gonna depend on what they say progresses over the next four to six weeks, because I really think that’s going to be a good indication of what his long-term health is going to be.”

Through all of it, Kemba was still optimistic about his ability to play and had some good things to say about former teammate Gordon Hayward.

Wishing this man a speedy recovery.

THE REST OF THE LINKS

NBCSN: Chris Forsberg not optimistic about Celtics’ chances vs. Bucks and Nets

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