Celtics face tough road for openers
The new-look Celtics, trying to erase memories of an underachieving 2018-19 season, will begin that task Oct. 23 with a road game against the Philadelphia 76ers. They will open at home Oct. 25 against the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors.
The NBA released its full schedule for the 2019-20 season yesterday. A highlight for the Celtics includes a Christmas Day meeting with the Raptors in Toronto.
Other highlights on the Celtics schedule include newly acquired star Kemba Walker’s Nov. 7 return (showcased on TNT) to Charlotte, where he played from 2011-19. The C’s host Terry Rozier and Charlotte on Dec. 22. The Celts also will face LeBron James and the Lakers twice, once at home Monday, Jan. 20, and once on the road Sunday, Feb. 23 as part of a four-game Western Conference swing. Zion Williamson, the 2019 top draft pick, makes his lone Garden appearance Jan. 11 with the New Orleans Pelicans, and the C’s host Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers on Feb. 13.
And Kyrie Irving, who left this offseason quite unceremoniously, will make his return to the Garden with his new team, the Brooklyn Nets, Nov. 27 in a game broadcast on ESPN. Al Horford returns to Boston with the 76ers on Dec. 12, while Aron Baynes comes back Jan. 18 with the Suns.
Overall, the Celtics will face a tough test out of the gate. The Celtics will play 10 of their first 15 games of the season on the road, and will face some tough teams in that stretch, along with an extended trip to the Western Conference with stops at Golden State (and its new arena in San Francisco), Sacramento, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver. The C’s first home slate includes games against Toronto, Milwaukee, the Knicks, Dallas and Washington.
Conversely, coming out of the All-Star break, the C’s will start with a road trip, but then finish the season with a home-heavy slate.
Over the final seven weeks of the regular season, the Celtics will play only nine road games in a 23-game span, and five of their final eight games at home.
The overall NBA schedule features another dip in back-to-back games for teams and a major change in the number of nationally televised games starting at 10:30 p.m. Golden State and the Lakers will start several games a half-hour earlier than usual, while ESPN and Turner are going to earlier start times on many of their midweek doubleheader nights.
Such a change has been on NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s mind for some time, especially since roughly half of the nation’s television homes are in the East time zone — but now, a number of the league’s biggest stars play on the West coast.