Atlantic Division title showdown in Boston tonight!

Two early-season NBA juggernauts are set to square off in an epic battle tonight at the TD Garden.   The undefeated and defending Atlantic Division champion Raptors (1-0) take on the also undefeated Celtics (1-0), who boast the No. 1 scoring differential in the Eastern Conference (+17).

OK, there's clearly sarcasm here, but also, there's not.  This is actually a big game/nice early test for the C's.  In an ESPN.com writer poll, 15 of 25 columnists picked Toronto to win the division.  The other 10 chose Boston (40 percent).  Tonight's winner goes to 2-0 and grabs the early lead.

Yeah, it might not last for the next 80 games, but it's nice to have this kind of thing be a reasonable topic of conversation again.  Along those lines, I had an epiphany of sorts while sitting in the Garden Wednesday evening:

When the Celtics couldn't hit a shot and fell behind the 76ers in the first quarter, it occurred to me that I wasn't the least bit worried.  Boston is a solid, well-coached ballclub and Philly is not.  That one was in the bag all along.

It's been a while since I've been able to have that feeling.



Follow Mark Vandeusen on Twitter @LucidSportsFan