On August 10th , ESPN's Shams Charania reported that after the NBA officially announced the key schedule for the 2025-26 season, the Boston Celtics were confirmed to miss this year's Christmas Day game. This news quickly sparked heated discussion, as the Celtics have always been a regular on Christmas Day, having presented exciting year-end games to fans for many consecutive years.

It's worth noting that the Indiana Pacers, last season's Eastern Conference Finals champions, were also not selected for this year's Christmas Day game. Their star player, Tyrese Haliburton, suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the playoffs. With two highly competitive Eastern Conference teams both missing key players due to injuries, the disparity between the East and West in this year's Christmas Day matchup is even more pronounced.

According to the full Christmas Day matchup schedule, first revealed by ESPN, the six final games of this season are virtually dominated by Western Conference teams. Participating Western Conference teams include the San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves. In the Eastern Conference, there is only one matchup : the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the New York Knicks. This arrangement has also caused confusion in the media, as the Eastern Conference's presence is clearly lacking in terms of both entertainment value and league balance.

According to Shams Charania, of the 10 teams that won at least 49 games last season, none of the Los Angeles Clippers, Boston Celtics, or Indiana Pacers were scheduled to play on Christmas Day. This is not only the Celtics ' first absence in nearly 15 years, but also reflects, to a certain extent, the league's consideration of roster integrity and market attention in scheduling.

With Tatum and Haliburton out for a long time due to injuries, the overall competitiveness of the Eastern Conference may be affected in the short term. The absence of the Celtics in the Christmas game also made many Celtics fans feel regretful.