Boston Celtics: A look ahead at January’s schedule
It’s safe to say the Boston Celtics are happy that December is coming to an end after a subpar month. But does it get any easier? Here is what’s in store for January.
It has been a rough month thus far for the Boston Celtics.
After a hot start to the season, the Celtics have been on the decline. It looked like that trend was going to continue after they trailed the Houston Rockets by 26 at one point in Thursday’s game.
Surprisingly, they were able to come away with a remarkable comeback against one the NBA’s best.
Boston is 10-7 to this point in December with one game left, but let’s see if they can turn the page and start off 2018 the right way. Here is a look at the upcoming schedule for the month of January:
| Date | Opponent | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Opponent | ||
| Wed, Jan 3, 2018 | 8:00p ET | Cleveland Cavaliers | |
| Fri, Jan 5, 2018 | 7:30p ET | Minnesota Timberwolves | |
| Sat, Jan 6, 2018 | 6:00p ET | @ | Brooklyn Nets |
| Thu, Jan 11, 2018 | 3:00p ET | @ | Philadelphia 76ers |
| Tue, Jan 16, 2018 | 7:30p ET | New Orleans Pelicans | |
| Thu, Jan 18, 2018 | 7:00p ET | Philadelphia 76ers | |
| Sun, Jan 21, 2018 | 1:00p ET | Orlando Magic | |
| Tue, Jan 23, 2018 | 10:30p ET | @ | Los Angeles Lakers |
| Wed, Jan 24, 2018 | 10:30p ET | @ | Los Angeles Clippers |
| Sat, Jan 27, 2018 | 8:30p ET | @ | Golden State Warriors |
| Mon, Jan 29, 2018 | 9:00p ET | @ | Denver Nuggets |
| Wed, Jan 31, 2018 | 8:00p ET | New York Knicks |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/29/2017.
At first glance, the schedule does not look overly hard. There are a few tough matchups sprinkled in there, but for the most part it isn’t anything to circle on the calendar.
Let’s start with the easy games first because we all like an easy win. The easiest games the Celtics’ will see are against the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers. All four of those teams are well below .500, and have had significant injury issues.
Then you get to the games where the opponents may not be top tier, but they won’t make things easy, with those being the Philadelphia 76ers (twice), New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets.
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These are the teams that are close to .500 or a few games above it. Some of those teams have a ton of talent, but their record just doesn’t reflect it. The Pelicans have plenty of talent, and the Sixers are young and scary when they are on a roll. The Knicks are a surprise team to this point, but they are getting things done.
Lastly we get to the games that are mark-your-calendar-worthy. The Celtics’ toughest matchups in January will be against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors.
I don’t think the Cavaliers and Warriors need much explanation. They are both excelling this year, and have been in the Finals the past three years. Minnesota is playing great this year to this point. What’s even scarier about them is they are starting to figure things out as of late.
They have a 22-14 record, and a lot of those losses should have been wins. Lately, their ball movement has been fantastic, they are understanding how to play with each other, and their defense looks to be moving in the right direction. Jimmy Butler has been an absolute beast these past few weeks, and Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins are top talent studs.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition
For the most part, Boston has a January schedule that isn’t too hard. The Celtics have a lot of games that should be wins, with the possibility of a few losses from a few select teams. They should be able to have a successful month, and get the wheels back on track.