The Boston Celtics travel to Arizona to play the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Monday.

The Celtics (10-2) own the best record in the NBA and it's a testament to how much this team has grown this season. Losing Kyrie Irving seems like a huge detriment when you look at the stat sheet but it's actual;y made this team so much better. Replacing him with Kemba Walker is obviously big but it's opened up the door for the rest of these players to do more. Guys like Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum looked to be held back by Irving last season and that's far from the case this year. All three guys have been superb this season and it has the Celtics playing their best ball since the Kevin Garnett era. With that said, Boston did have their 10-game winning streak snapped in the most recent game, losing by one-point at the hands of the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

The Suns (7-4) have been one of the surprises of the NBA and it's amazing just how much this team has grown this season. What's more telling than anything are their losses. In fact, some would argue that Phoenix could be 10-1, with three of their losses coming in the final minute against tough competition. That sort of competitive nature is what fans have been waiting for and it's clear that the additions of Ricky Rubio, Aron Bayes and Kelly Oubre have played a major part in the impressive start. That's even scarier when you consider that they've been doing al this damage with DeAndre Ayton suspended, as his return in a month will make this team even more dangerous.

Boston has dominated this series over recent years, winning seven of their last nine games against Phoenix.