Well-deserved ‘break’
Celtics earn time off around London trip
The itinerary analytics are rather staggering. When the Celtics walked off the Barclays Center court Saturday night, it was as if they had pulled out of rush hour traffic and onto a wide-open lane with a police escort. Sort of.
In the season’s first 82 days, the Celts played 43 games. The remaining 39 affairs will be spread over 95 days. (We’ll pause here for a moment to let you read that sentence again … Got it? Good. Let’s move on.)
They’ve had eight backto-backs, including the one completed in Brooklyn two nights ago. They have just six such sets remaining, and the next one is a Laker-Clipper couplet in LA on Jan. 23-24 that obviously requires no more travel than the bus trips to and from their hotel.
A large part of the reason for the early crunch was the Celts’ request for time before and after their game against the 76ers in London next Thursday. The NBA granted the wish, giving them four off days before and four more after. In that the schedule wizards offer no free lunches, the C’s had to pay for it at some point. Thus the two-and-ahalf-month mashup.
Most teams get a bit lighter load in the second half because of the All-Star break, but the Celtic luggage will be of the carry-on variety.
So was it all worth it? “I really don’t know,” said Brad Stevens. “That’s a really good question, but I don’t think you can know until you see how it plays out.
“I will say that I’m really happy with how we’ve managed it though.”
One would have to think so. A 33-10 record with the avoidance of heavy minutes for the regulars is quite an accomplishment.
There was no way of knowing in advance whether the request for buffer time around the London trip would have unintended consequences, but the early returns are good.
“I think we had one conversation about the post-London schedule after we did it,” said Stevens. “And I know (team president) Rich Gotham and Danny (Ainge) may have had conversations, but I was only involved in one. So it wasn’t that really in-depth, I don’t think.”
And, the coach hastened to add, the story isn’t yet complete.
“Well, we’re flying to London, and there’s a five-hour time difference and everything else, so we’ll see how that goes,” he said. “But I think we’ll manage it as well as we can, and obviously that’s why you want a break afterwards.
“It’s not because you want an extra 10 days and frontload your schedule, it’s because of the fact you’re changing that kind of time zone. So we’ll see how it all works out.
“I’ll be able to answer that question after the season, I think.”
As for how he and the Celtics have made it through until now, it’s a product of both long-range planning, focus and on-the-fly adjustments.
“You focus on the next day,” Stevens said. “That’s it. You don’t get your mind too far away from that.
“Obviously, as a coach, you need to have the whole big picture in mind. And we start in August. When the schedule comes out, we plan the whole thing. But you need to make sure that we’re alert to how our guys are feeling physically and mentally, and do we need to get away or do we need to work a little bit more.”
At least in terms of the regular season, there will be more time to do less work from here on out.
The Celts took yesterday off, as expected after a backto-back, and will fly to London today. They will practice tomorrow and Wednesday, play Thursday and fly home Friday. They will work out the travel kinks with a practice Saturday, take Sunday off and then work out Monday before hosting New Orleans Tuesday.