Opening night - the Boston Celtics season starts tonight

It has been one hundred and eighty five days since the Celtics exited the playoffs.  They have played summer league games, overseas exhibitions, and preseason games, but none of those officially "count."  The real season begins tonight.

Honestly, if that isn't enough to get you excited, then you might be on the wrong blog.

This is NBA Christmas folks.  We've been waiting all summer long, trying to be good fans, writing out a wish list, putting cookies and milk by the fireplace...  Now we just have to hope that Santa brings us everything we've asked for.

So far, the team has looked good in preseason and they've been the darling of stats projections and a few media pundits.  But none of that matters now.  We can make predictions and serve up piping hot takes all day long but what matters is what happens on the court starting tonight.

The team sounds like they are all on the same page and ready for opening night.

Celtics Bonded Together Ahead of Opening Night | Boston Celtics

"The one thing that I feel pretty good about is this team is a group that’s connected and it seems to be authentic," Stevens said before Tuesday afternoon’s practice. "It doesn’t seem to be rehearsed or just something that’s scripted."

Long hair, does care: Jae Crowder energizes Boston Celtics - Boston Celtics Blog - ESPN

"We’re getting better each and every day," said Crowder. "We take practices very serious. We’ve got a great group of guys, all listening and buying into what Brad is talking about. We’re just trying to get better. As the preseason went on, we felt like we we're striving in the right direction. We’re ready to get this started."

The wait is (almost) over.  Just a few hours till gametime.  Get excited folks.