Post by FLCeltsFan on Aug 11, 2018 19:21:03 GMT -5
The NBA released their 2018-19 schedule yesterday and you will find thoughts on it on pretty much every blog and NBA website. I always love going through the schedule and seeing when the big matchups are and seeing how many back to backs there are and how many times the Celtics are on national TV so I figured I'd post my thoughts here as well.
First of all, the Celtics will be on national TV a total of 39 times this season. This includes 12 games on TNT, 10 games on ESPN, 12 games on NBA-TV, and 5 games on ABC. Almost half of the Celtics games will be televised on national TV. The Philadelphia 76ers will also have 39 national TV appearances. The Warriors will be on national TV 40 times and for some reason that I really don't understand, the Lakers are on national TV 43 times.
Almost half of the Celtics' games, or 37 games, will be played on weekends. There will be 13 Friday night games this season. There will be 18 Saturday games with 1 of those scheduled for the afternoon and 17 at night. There will also be 6 Sunday games, with 2 of those in the afternoon and 4 of them at night.
The Celtics won't have to wait long for their longest road trip of the season. They will have a 5 game road trip from November 3rd through November 11th that takes them through Indiana, Denver, Phoenix, Utah and Portland. There will be another 3 game road trip from November 23rd through the 26th when they play Atlanta, Dallas, and New Orleans.
Unlike in seasons past, the Celtics have relatively few back to backs. They will have just 12 total back to back sets this season. Those 12 back to backs will also not include any of the dreaded 4 games in 5 night stretches. 5 of those 12 back to backs will be in the first 7 weeks of the season.
Games to circle on your calendar include 4 games against the Sixers on October 16th (opening night), Christmas Day, February 12, and March 20th. The Lakers will be coming to Boston on February 7 and the Celtics will visit them in LA on March 9. The Warriors will visit Boston on January 26th while the Celtics play in Oakland on March 6. The Celtics play at Houston on December 27th and they play Houston at home on March 3rd. There are a lot of big games in March including Isaiah Thomas' first game at the Garden since the trade on March 18th. The Celtics play in Toronto on October 19 and February 26th while the Raptors visit the Celtics on January 16th.
In the strength of schedule rankings, the Sacramento Kings have the toughest schedule. That could be good for the draft pick they owe to the Celtics. Phoenix, Dallas, and Memphis have the next 3 hardest schedules. It doesn't seem fair that the worst teams have the hardest schedules. What also doesn't seem fair is that the 76ers have been deemed to have the easiest schedule with Brooklyn, Washington, Milwaukee and Toronto with the next easiest schedules.
The Warriors come in 24th with only 6 teams having easier schedules. The Lakers are 10th hardest while the Celtics are right in the middle with the 16th hardest schedule. Nine of the 10 toughest schedules are in the West with Atlanta coming in at 9th being the only Eastern team in the top 10. On the other hand, 10 of the 11easiest schedules are in the East, with Golden State at 24 being the exception.
The teams listed from hardest to easiest schedule are Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Portland, Denver, LA Clippers, Minnesota, Atlanta, LA Lakers, New York, Cleveland, Houston, New Orleans, San Antonio, Boston, Chicago, Utah, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Charlotte, Detroit, Miami, Golden State, Indiana, Toronto, Milwaukee, Washington, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia.
Celtics fans will get their first preseason look at Gordon Hayward in his comeback season on on September 30th when the Celtics host the Hornets. They open the season in Boston against the Sixers on October 16th. I'm glad it's not in Cleveland again. In one of his Fortnite sessions on Twitch, Hayward had a request for Celtics fans. He asked that fans chant "Daddy's always happy." That, of course, refers to the gender reveal video that went viral a while back. So, that's just a quick look over the schedule and some of the big games to look forward to. I'm sure there are a lot of more detailed looks at the schedule and different aspects of it. I'm getting very excited to see Celtics basketball again. How about you??
First of all, the Celtics will be on national TV a total of 39 times this season. This includes 12 games on TNT, 10 games on ESPN, 12 games on NBA-TV, and 5 games on ABC. Almost half of the Celtics games will be televised on national TV. The Philadelphia 76ers will also have 39 national TV appearances. The Warriors will be on national TV 40 times and for some reason that I really don't understand, the Lakers are on national TV 43 times.
Almost half of the Celtics' games, or 37 games, will be played on weekends. There will be 13 Friday night games this season. There will be 18 Saturday games with 1 of those scheduled for the afternoon and 17 at night. There will also be 6 Sunday games, with 2 of those in the afternoon and 4 of them at night.
The Celtics won't have to wait long for their longest road trip of the season. They will have a 5 game road trip from November 3rd through November 11th that takes them through Indiana, Denver, Phoenix, Utah and Portland. There will be another 3 game road trip from November 23rd through the 26th when they play Atlanta, Dallas, and New Orleans.
Unlike in seasons past, the Celtics have relatively few back to backs. They will have just 12 total back to back sets this season. Those 12 back to backs will also not include any of the dreaded 4 games in 5 night stretches. 5 of those 12 back to backs will be in the first 7 weeks of the season.
Games to circle on your calendar include 4 games against the Sixers on October 16th (opening night), Christmas Day, February 12, and March 20th. The Lakers will be coming to Boston on February 7 and the Celtics will visit them in LA on March 9. The Warriors will visit Boston on January 26th while the Celtics play in Oakland on March 6. The Celtics play at Houston on December 27th and they play Houston at home on March 3rd. There are a lot of big games in March including Isaiah Thomas' first game at the Garden since the trade on March 18th. The Celtics play in Toronto on October 19 and February 26th while the Raptors visit the Celtics on January 16th.
In the strength of schedule rankings, the Sacramento Kings have the toughest schedule. That could be good for the draft pick they owe to the Celtics. Phoenix, Dallas, and Memphis have the next 3 hardest schedules. It doesn't seem fair that the worst teams have the hardest schedules. What also doesn't seem fair is that the 76ers have been deemed to have the easiest schedule with Brooklyn, Washington, Milwaukee and Toronto with the next easiest schedules.
The Warriors come in 24th with only 6 teams having easier schedules. The Lakers are 10th hardest while the Celtics are right in the middle with the 16th hardest schedule. Nine of the 10 toughest schedules are in the West with Atlanta coming in at 9th being the only Eastern team in the top 10. On the other hand, 10 of the 11easiest schedules are in the East, with Golden State at 24 being the exception.
The teams listed from hardest to easiest schedule are Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, Memphis, Portland, Denver, LA Clippers, Minnesota, Atlanta, LA Lakers, New York, Cleveland, Houston, New Orleans, San Antonio, Boston, Chicago, Utah, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Charlotte, Detroit, Miami, Golden State, Indiana, Toronto, Milwaukee, Washington, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia.
Celtics fans will get their first preseason look at Gordon Hayward in his comeback season on on September 30th when the Celtics host the Hornets. They open the season in Boston against the Sixers on October 16th. I'm glad it's not in Cleveland again. In one of his Fortnite sessions on Twitch, Hayward had a request for Celtics fans. He asked that fans chant "Daddy's always happy." That, of course, refers to the gender reveal video that went viral a while back. So, that's just a quick look over the schedule and some of the big games to look forward to. I'm sure there are a lot of more detailed looks at the schedule and different aspects of it. I'm getting very excited to see Celtics basketball again. How about you??
