Let’s be honest: we’re all in need of the upcoming All-Star break.
The players need to mentally and physically recover after a brutal second quarter of the season (I dove deeper into their recent struggles here). The coaches need to get together and figure out how to re-energize a stagnant offensive attack beyond just hoping the players make shots.
And the fans? We need to find our fun again. Perhaps watching Jayson Tatum and JD Davison (and hopefully others!) show out over All-Star Weekend will help, but a few days off will be good for the soul, regardless.
Tired or not, however, the games keep on coming. I wanted to take a minute to highlight some key matchups that are coming up in the season’s second half.
Sun, February 2nd — vs. Philadelphia 76ers
First, we have an upcoming matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. This will be a good test of the Celtics’ defense against fast guards, something the team has struggled with in the past. Nobody in the league is quicker than Maxey.
Maxey dropped 33 points and 12 assists on Boston’s head in Philly’s Christmas Day win over Boston. Hopefully, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White took that personally.
Who knows whether Joel Embiid or Paul George will play, but if they do, I think the C’s would want to fine-tune their defensive approach.
Plus, even if I’m comfortable with Boston’s historical dominance of Philadelphia, I don’t really want the C’s to have to get through them in the first round. Philly will need to put together a strong second half to make it out of the play-in (they’re currently the 11-seed, although several teams above them seem destined to plummet in the standings). Boston can do its homework early by serving Philly an “L” like one of their delicious artery-clogging cheesesteaks.
Tue, February 4th — at Cleveland Cavaliers
Right after that, the Celtics have a matchup against Cleveland. There’s the obvious top-line hype of facing off against a premier opponent, of course. But the Cavs’ grip on the first seed isn’t iron-clad. They recently had a three-game losing streak and are just 5-5 in their last ten. That’s the same as Boston, to be fair, but there’s no telling what can happen if the Celtics find their form and Cleveland discovers they peaked too early.
It’s also worth noting that this game will be in Cleveland. Right now, Boston’s road to the Finals parallels I-90 West, and it’ll be good to have another practice run in the heart of enemy territory (and hey, the Celtics have actually been better away lately!).
The two teams will meet for a fourth and final time on February 28th in the Garden.
Sat, February 8th/Sun, February 23rd — at/vs. New York Knicks
Then, Boston faces New York twice in two weeks (with another Philly matchup in between for good measure). Right now, New York is the likeliest second-round opponent for Boston, and this will be a good practice run to get used to defending the Kral-Anthony Towns/Jalen Brunson pick-and-roll. Towns’ ability to stretch the floor at center will put the Celtics’ drop coverages to the test, and watching how Mazzulla adjusts the defense will be fun.
New York fans might be even more eager for this matchup than the Boston faithful, as the team was constructed with the Celtics squarely in mind. Watching the Mikal Bridges/OG Anunoby duo combat the Jays will be fascinating.
Both games are worth watching as these are the first matchups Boston has had against New York since the season opener (that feels so long ago!), and they are close enough together that any tactical adjustments from the first game to the second should shine.
Sat, March 8th — vs. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers come to town on national TV. They’ve been feistier than I expected this year, outplaying their net margin and fighting for home-court advantage in a crowded, if injury-plagued, Western Conference. Not to bring up bad memories, but they also stomped the Celtics like so many bugs a few days ago, schedule loss or not. This one will also be Boston’s third game in four nights, although at least it’s not the back end of a doubleheader.
Wed, March 12th — vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Celtics memorably fell to the Thunder in early January after losing the fourth quarter 29-12. Jaylen Brown will have this one circled after going scoreless in the second half.
More than any other game on the calendar, this is the one where I want to see a full, 48-minute, playoff-level effort. OKC will be 48 hours from a back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets; they’ll be about as vulnerable as a team with Mariana Trench depth can be. The Celtics can’t afford to look past the Eastern Conference playoffs, but we, as fans, certainly can. I want to see proof that they can handle OKC’s physicality and havoc-creating ways.
Sat, March 15th/Tue, March 18th — at/vs. Brooklyn Nets
The Nets started the year far more competent than they should have been or wanted to be, but a series of trades have fixed that. By the time the trade deadline is over, they will be an entire roster of “Who he?” guys for Shaquille O’Neale to be confused by.
This is Boston’s opportunity to hopefully earn some wins and get key players rested and right, if necessary. But I mostly bring it up because, for local fans, waiting until the last minute might score some dirt-cheap ticket deals! Earlier this week, tickets for a Charlotte/Brooklyn game were going for $1 — yes, you read that right.
Shamrock-blooded fans won’t be that lucky, of course, but it indicates how few people want to see the Nets when they come into town.
Monday, March 31st — at Memphis Grizzlies
I mention this primarily due to its schedule significance. This is the final game in a long Western road trip: Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix (maybe with Jimmy Butler), San Antonio, and Memphis across eleven nights.
That’s not the worst set of opponents, but any trip across the Mississippi tends to have its hiccups. If Boston can get through that with a winning record, both in the standings and in health, it’ll be a relief.
Tue, April 8th — at New York Knicks
The fourth-to-last game of the season is in the Big Apple. As of right now, the Celtics and Knicks are projected to finish within a few games of each other in the standings; there’s a distinct possibility this game could decide the 2/3 seeding battle, although given that New York has one of the hardest remaining schedules in the league and Boston one of the easiest, it might be moot at that point.
Regardless, a chance to face a potential playoff foe late in the season could provide Mazzulla an opportunity to try out some tricks. He won’t want to give away the entire playoff playbook, but it’s nice to test the waters in a lower-stakes environment.
Fri, April 11th/Sun, April 13th — vs. Charlotte Hornets
By a fluke of the schedule, the Celtics’ final two games of the season are both against the Charlotte Hornets. This is nectar from the scheduling gods.
The Hornets are bad, and there’s a very real chance they shut down LaMelo Ball (who has a 50/50 shot of being healthy by this point anyway) to avoid catastrophic injury and/or to tank their way to a better pick. The team is 1-11 this year when Ball doesn’t play, and he won’t; old friend Charles Lee seems likely to gift Boston two wins almost no matter who takes the court (under management’s orders, of course).
This late in the season, the standings will be crystal clear. If Boston needs to win to ensure a high seed, they should be able to do so with ease (famous last words, I know). If they are locked into place, they can sit everyone and still have a reasonable shot at stealing victory.
Plus, ending with two straight games at home will give the team even more rest before the inevitable playoff grind. Getting to the playoffs energized and confident is the goal.
