Inside a unique challenge within the Celtics' schedule

With expectations still running high for the Celtics in the East despite the departures of Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, the impact of the schedule on Boston’s performance during the year cannot be understated. For NBA teams, some success can be dependent on varying effects of long road trips, back-to-back games, and overall strength of opponents. A 10-10 start for Boston last year after a tough October/November was a hole the C's never really fully dug out of as the year wore on. 

How does the Celtics schedule look this year from front-to-back? What patches of the calendar can they take advantage of? Let’s take a closer look at the full 82 games and see whether one of the easier schedules in the league (23rd in strength of schedule) will be outweighed by another challenging reality.

October (4 games)
2 home, 2 road
1 back-to-back
Games against expected playoff teams: 3 
Games to watch: @ Philadelphia, vs. Toronto, vs. Milwaukee

Notable: The Eastern Conference contenders will be tested mightily out of the gate for the second straight season with three of their first four games coming against Eastern Conference heavyweights. There will be plenty of buzz surrounding opening night as Boston gets a crack at Al Horford and the Sixers, while the defending champions arrive in town for the Garden opener just two nights later. An early reunion will be in play on Saturday night of the first week as well with Marcus Morris facing off with Boston inside of Madison Square Garden. Giannis and the Bucks come to town to close out the month, which puts a 2-2 or 1-3 start very much in play for the C's out of the gate if they aren't running on all cylinders.   

November (14 games)
5 home, 9 road
1 back-to-back
Games against expected playoff teams: 6 
Games to watch: @ Golden State, @ LA Clippers, vs. Brooklyn

Notable: Easily the roughest travel month of the year for Boston, as they have their longest trip of the year (five games in eight days) out West while also adding a three-game trip through the midwest two weeks before that. The competition will be far less fierce on the first trip despite what should be an emotional return home for Kemba Walker (@ Cleveland, @ Charlotte, @ San Antonio) but the West Coast swing will put the Celtics up against three heavyweights out West, including the new-look Clippers and Warriors. All of those matchups will just be a warmup act to the end of the month though when Kyrie Irving arrives in Boston for the first time as a member of the Nets. Given that this showdown will come on the night before Thanksgiving, it has the potential to be one of the more lubed up crowds in Garden history for a regular-season game.

December (13 games)
8 home, 5 road
2 back-to-backs
Games against expected playoff teams: 6 
Games to watch: @ Toronto (Christmas), vs. Philadelphia, vs. Charlotte 

Notable: If the Celtics are going to make a major move towards the top of the East standings in 2019, this is probably the month to do it in. A home-heavy slate features plenty of winnable games with the Sixers and Nuggets serving the only contenders coming to town for the entire month. Terry Rozier will make a return to the Garden as well on Dec. 22 ahead of a Christmas showdown in Toronto. Beyond that? Plenty of winnable games on the return in Charlotte, New York, Indiana and Dallas line the calendar. If Brad Stevens has figured out his best rotations by this point of the year, the C's could be set up to make a big move after a challenging November.

January (16 games)
9 home, 7 road
3 back-to-backs
Games against expected playoff teams: 7 
Games to watch: vs. New Orleans, @ Milwaukee, vs. Golden State 

Notable: The toughest month of the year in terms of volume will be made an even bigger grind with three home/road back-to-backs mixed in, featuring two in another timezone (Milwaukee, Chicago). A three-game road trip to the southeast will be mixed in as well (New Orleans, Miami, Orlando) which will surely add to the road-weariness since the team does not have two off days in a row for the entire 31 days. An entertaining mix of high profile visitors arrive at the TD Garden as well with Zion Williamson (Jan. 11), Anthony Davis (Jan. 20) and Steph Curry (Jan. 31) making their sole visitors for the Garden all year. Getting both Warrior matchups in before February will probably help the C's dodge Klay Thompson for the season as he recovers from a torn ACL injury.

February (12 games)
5 home, 7 road
1 back-to-back
Games against expected playoff teams: 8 
Games to watch: @ Houston, @ LA lakers, vs. LA Clippers  

Notable: The Celtics will be busy with some nationally televised showdowns in February thanks to a lineup featuring the toughest strength of schedule out of any month on the year. The Celtics will have three of their four ABC matchups including two on Saturday nights at the TD Garden (Philadelphia, Houston). A road showdown with LeBron James and the Lakers awaits on a Sunday afternoon as well in the midst of a four-game road trip that begins after the All-Star Break. The Celtics will be home on the trade deadline (Feb. 6) and will be put to the test in the final three weeks of the month, with six of their seven games coming against expected top playoff teams. 

March (15 games)
7 home, 8 road
3 back-to-backs
Games against expected playoff teams: 7 
Games to watch: vs. Brooklyn, @ Milwaukee, vs. Portland 

Notable:  The volume ramps up again for Boston in March as the schedule is peppered with road games around the Eastern Conference, including a four-game swing in the final two weeks of the month. The final two head-to-head matchups with Kyrie Irving and the Nets will come in March and it will be a fascinating subplot to see whether Kevin Durant will be close to returning from his torn Achilles in the final stages of the regular season. Otherwise, tough road tilts await in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Toronto as the East hierarchy will sort itself out more ahead of the final push for seeding. 

April (8 games)
5 home, 3 road
1 back-to-back
Games against expected playoff teams: 6 
Games to watch: vs. Miami, vs. Indiana, vs. Milwaukee

Notable: The Celtics will begin their final month with a four-game homestand, the beginning of a nice window of opportunity for Brad Stevens to get his guys some rest ahead of the postseason. With six potential playoff opponents (all from the East) there could be some seeding issues that come into play but just one back-to-back and one road trip (three games in four days) will minimize travel for the remainder of the two weeks. After a daunting February and March, it will be a good chance for the C's to recharge the batteries down the stretch with some potential playoff preview matchups on the docket.

Takeaways

The Celtics are going to be busy this year when it comes up to racking travel miles, flying more than any team in the Eastern Conference thanks to multiple home/road back-to-backs. Boston also does not catch a break due to the fact that three of the four Eastern Conference opponents they play three times (Atlanta, Detroit, Charlotte, Indiana) are not expected to be playoff teams.

Despite these disadvantages, the Eastern Conference should not be a huge challenge on most nights and a favorable month of April will give Brad Stevens plenty of time to get his rotation settled with the necessary rest ahead of the postseason. The biggest challenge for the head coach will be avoiding the early hole in October and November that plagued this team last regular season. The sense of urgency will certainly be very high out of the gate but the schedule will not be forgiving in October and November. If Stevens can navigate those waters, this team should be on track to finish in the top-3 of the East.