The Celtics got a lucky break with the way their schedule for the 2023-24 season is set up, as they’ll have plenty of games after a day off.
Some teams will receive more rest than others since it is practically impossible to create an NBA schedule that is entirely balanced. And it appears
that the Boston Celtics caught a good break in the upcoming 2023–2024 season.
Positive Residual estimates that the Celtics will play 16 games over the course of 82 competitions when their opponents will have played the day
before. The C’s play more of these contests than any other team in the league, so they’ll be more rested than the opposition they encounter most
frequently.
Ironically, Boston appeared to perform better last season with no rest at all. The C’s had a 10-3 record in the second game of back-to-backs during the
2022–23 season. On the other hand, they had a poor 6-6 record in contests played after exactly two days of rest.
In the new season, the Celtics will have 11 games in which they’ll be at a rest disadvantage. Plus, before they take on the rival Los Angeles Lakers on
Christmas Day, they’ll play three road games (against three 2022 playoff teams) on the West Coast in five days.
But before we look too far forward, the Celtics will play the New York Knicks in their season opener on Wednesday, October 25, at Madison Square
Garden. They’ll attempt to extract revenge on the Miami Heat in Boston two days later after the tenacious South Beach team eliminated them from
the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals.
preseason game on Sunday, October 8 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
READ NEXT:
Atlantic Notes: Porzingis, McHale, Harden, Morey, Raptors
Kristaps Porzingis‘ plantar fasciitis recovery, though not season-ending, is going to be an extensive process that requires planning by
the Celtics, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. Porzingis’ injury will sideline him for the entirety of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and he’ll be out of
commission for roughly four-to-six weeks.
The Celtics are no stranger to serious injuries taking place during international play. Just last season, Boston lost Danilo Gallinari for the whole
year after he tore his ACL in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers. The Italian forward never ended up suiting up for the Celtics. Thankfully, in Porzingis’
case, the Celtics are hopeful history won’t repeat itself.
Weiss writes that the next steps for Porzingis include gearing up for the start of training camp, which his injury timeline syncs up with, and playing in
Boston’s preseason games. Even though the timeline seems to work out well for Boston and Porzingis, there is still some cause for concern, Weiss
opines.
The Celtics didn’t play Al Horford or Robert Williams on back-to-backs last season, but it would be hard to replicate that system with Porzingis
unless Williams is ready to play every night. Boston’s approach to Porzingis’ injury goes beyond simply when he plays, but also how the Celtics are
able to utilize him on offense and defense. Having Porzingis drop on pick-and-rolls on defense and allowing him to be a spot-up shooter on offense
could prevent the 7’3″ Porzingis from suffering further injuries, Weiss writes.
The Celtics traded long-time rotation piece Marcus Smart to bring in Porzingis, a move with an eye toward raising their floor. According to Weiss,
Porzingis should be viewed as a franchise cornerstone and his injury is nothing to take lightly.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- In an interview with Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett, former Rockets head coach Kevin McHale offered his perspective on the fallout between the Sixers‘ James Harden and Daryl Morey. McHale coached Harden and worked under Morey at the same time between 2012 and 2015 and gave unique insight into the situation. “James wanted a big extension from Philly, and Philly wouldn’t give it to him, and that’s not a Daryl decision,” Morey said. “Daryl’s got a part of that, of course, but that’s an owner decision. So (Harden) was really mad, saying Daryl lied to him, but, you know, maybe they saw Game 7 against the Celtics (9 points on 3 for 11 shooting in a 24-point loss) and said, ‘I’m not interested in that.’” McHale went on to discuss numerous aspects regarding the situation, including how it impacts Joel Embiid and Nick Nurse, as well as detailing his own experiences with coaching Harden. I recommend reading the interview in full, as McHale delves deep into his personal dealings with both members of the fallout.
- Weiss also offered his perspective on the situation regarding Harden and Morey, juxtaposing the Sixers and the Celtics. Harden marks the latest player to want out of Philadelphia, joining the likes of Markelle Fultz, Al Horford and Ben Simmons before him. The Celtics haven’t been faced with such issues in a while, but Weiss writes that they have their own problems to take care of. Malcolm Brogdon and then Marcus Smart both felt blindsided by the Porzingis trade, Weiss writes, and general manager Brad Stevens needs to make sure he doesn’t lose his locker room after such incidents.
- The Raptors have the fewest U.S. nationally televised games in the NBA in the 2023/24 season. Toronto has one TNT game and three NBATV games. This upcoming season marks the fewest U.S. nationally televised games the Raptors have had in a decade, since the start of the Masai Ujiri era (Twitter link).
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