The Boston Celtics are poised to play in one of the major milestone games of the 2022-23 NBA season against the Milwaukee Bucks on Christmas Day, and whether or not you believe it should be the case, a lot of narratives surrounding contention odds, the MVP, and even All-Star races may be impacted by that contest.

But what can we really learn about the state of the East, the cases to take home season-long hardware, and how each team is playing now (and might play in the postseason) based on what we will see on December 25th? What should we be watching for, and which players should we focus our attention on as Boston faces Milwaukee and Giannis Antetokounmpo as well as their other near-term games?

To get a bead on the state of the Celtics and their peers in the East, the hosts of the Celtics Lab podcast linked up with USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt to talk over the Celtics' recent play, our expectations for the big national TV game and beyond, and more.

Get up to speed on Boston's Christmas Day prospects, as well as what we can glean from their recent stumbles and their schedule to close out December.

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