The Celtics will open up the season on Oct. 20, but there are some very interesting nuggets to note about the year ahead.
After going 56-26 and earning the No. 2 seed in the NBA's Eastern Conference playoffs last season, the Boston Celtics will kick off the new NBA season on Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons, as noted by the league office in Thursday's schedule release.
As always, the Celtics will play 82 games in total, with 41 games at home and 41 on the road. They will participate in in the NBA Cup for the third straight year, this time with the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards as their group mates.
We've already compiled the five must-watch games on the C's schedule for the year, but let's take a deeper dive at some of the scheduling quirks for this year's group.
An Opening Night midweek day game?
Yes, Opening Night is always an exciting thing and Celtics fans will undoubtedly be happy to kick off the new season, especially against a solid opponent in the Detroit Pistons, but why is Opening Night happening at 3 p.m. ET on a Tuesday?
Surely, the NBA is trying to make Opening Night an all-day affair, which makes sense from a marketing perspective, but there aren't many fans that are going to be thrilled about the first game of the year taking place during the workday.
Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles against Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) in the second half at Little Caesars Arena. Rick Osentoski-Imagn ImagesOne huge road trip
The Celtics will be on the road from Dec. 30 until Jan. 9, a span of six games around the New Year's holiday. It's a brutal swing through the Bulls, Jazz, Blazers, Suns, Lakers and Clippers, and even though some of those teams appear very beatable, the trip is not easy physically.
And oh, after the last game on Jan. 9, the Celtics get to fly back across the country to take on the Rockets and Knicks in the next week, two excellent opponents.
End of season travels
Seven of the last nine Celtics games will all be played on the road, with most of them coming against Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls (Miami, Indiana, Cleveland, Knicks). Not an easy way to end the season, either.
Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) dribbles against Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) in the first half at State Farm Arena. Mady Mertens-Imagn Images14: Number of back-to-backs
Boston will play 14 different back-to-backs this season, with many of them concentrated in the first half of the season. The first is Oct. 26-27 against the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets.
27: The number of primetime games
The maximum allowed is 34, so the Celtics are still very popular after moving Brown, but not as popular as his new time, which has the full allotment.
