The Wizards and Celtics rivalry may be dead, but this new era is as fun as ever

The Wizards and Celtics are different teams than the ones that faced each other during last year’s hotly contested Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics traded away Isaiah Thomas for Kyrie Irving, and are starting a rookie alongside a second year player. The Wizards completely revamped their bench.

Yet, their Christmas Day 2017 rematch -- the first game between these two teams since Boston won Game 7 last May — still felt exactly the same.

It was like we were placed in Game 8 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals. The two sides didn’t miss a beat in the Wizards’ 111-103 victory.

I’m not quite sure if this qualifies as a rivalry anymore without many key antagonists like Thomas, Jae Crowder, Brandon Jennings, or Kelly Olynyk, but this was damn good and fun basketball. They gave us something different to watch, but it was still just as compelling.

It’s always a treat to watch these two play each other, but the Christmas Day game was especially good. Wall finished with 21 points and 14 assists, while Irving finished with 20 points and five assists.

But it wasn’t those numbers that made the matchup special. It was the plays they made against each other in the heat of the game. It’s rare you get to see two special players guarding each other, but Wall and Irving did throughout the night and it was just as fun as you’re thinking it was.

Wall’s defense turning into instant offense after he hounded Irving was a thing of beauty.

And Irving’s pure disregard for gravity and physics was just as mind-boggling.

They made jaw-dropping plays like this minute after minute to the point where you’re not even on your seat anymore — you’re standing in the middle of the floor with your hands in the air.

These two have always been rivals since they hit the league. They’ve always been compared and have faced many of the same expectations throughout their career. Now they’re going head to head as the leaders of their teams and it’s so much fun.

This might not be a rivalry anymore, but it’s hard not to pinpoint the connections between these two teams. We’ve already highlighted their point guards, but there’s always the Al Horford hook and the Kelly Oubre factor. And even if we want to breeze past that, Marcus Smart probably still hates the Wizards.

Those things still matter. And even if they didn’t, these are just two teams vying to get to the top of the Eastern Conference and they’re in each other’s ways. The Celtics are a step above the Wizards at this point based on their record, but their Christmas Day matchup shows us things may be a bit closer than we actually think.