Schedule Release

Marc D'Amico

As NBA marketing and content teams know better than anyone else, there’s always a schedule for the schedule.

Like clockwork, each and every August, the time comes for these groups to execute on the idea they’ve been preparing to bring to life all summer. It is the NBA’s schedule release – the first opportunity for each franchise to tell its fans when and where they’ll be able to catch their favorite team in person.

Naturally, every team wants to deliver the information in a way that’s memorable, impactful and entertaining. That’s why the Celtics’ marketing and content teams began working on their plans way back in mid-June.

Over the course of the ensuing weeks and months, one idea rose above the rest to hit production. The problem was, bringing it to life was a bit complicated.

The team wanted to highlight its marquee matchups by placing customized embroidery on hats. While the Celtics are especially experienced in making jerseys, the creation of hats – especially on a tight timeline – was a foreign process. So they enlisted some help.

Enter Brad Czarnowski of AWOL Print Shop, and designer Aidan Marshall.

Czarnowski’s print shop is located in Waltham, Mass., where the Celtics had practiced for 29 years from 1999-2018. It felt to him like a match made in heaven.

“It was exciting when they reached out!” he told Celtics.com.&nbsp;“It was a kind of a full-circle moment for me.&nbsp; Growing up in the city where the team practiced for many years, it's surreal having the opportunity to work with the team which I love and grew up watching.”

Czarnowski liked the idea that the team brought to him but knew the project would require the right artist to create the right design. As he says, “If you don’t have good art, the results will show.”

Among his network, Czarnowski recommended one artist who was a perfect fit for the project: Marshall.

Marshall has worked with current and former Celtics players, including Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart, on some of their personal brand design needs. He was excited to join the team, and even more eager to be a part of a project that was unique.

“The idea they brought to me was exciting and something I haven’t done before,” Marshall said. “I am always up for doing something new and different, so this was a chance to get involved.”

So Marshall went to work on coming up with unique designs to represent the cities of Boston’s opponents. As any elite designer would, he wanted to think outside the box.

“Designing for the smaller cities was a learning curve, especially if I haven't been there,” he said. “I tried my best to find things locals would respect and not just do a skyline or something everyone else has done. All those cities have something to offer, so finding those things was a good challenge.”

Marshall went all-in on building most of the designs around each city’s nickname: City of Angels (Los Angeles), Windy City (Chicago), Alamo City (San Antonio), Cream City (Milwaukee), The Valley (Phoenix). The remaining opponents, Golden State, Miami and Philadelphia, received custom designs built around their most prominent landmarks.

This all may sound simple without the context of timing. The challenge for NBA teams creating content around their schedule release is that there isn’t much time to them around. In this particular case, there’s even less time to embroider the products.

Boston opened discussions with Czarnowski in early-August, and Marshall didn’t begin designing the artwork until about a week before the league was set to release its schedule. Marshall turned the designs around quickly, but the team wasn’t able to embroider the hats and capture the process on video until Aug. 14.

From that moment on, the project fell entirely on the shoulders of Boston’s video editors, who worked tirelessly over the following two days to edit the final version of the video.

While the entire process was hectic, Czarnowski and Marshall wouldn’t change it for the world. Getting the chance to work with their hometown team and to help the Celtics engage their fan base on one of the biggest days of the offseason was an experience they’ll never forget.

“Being able to know I had a part in creating something that people might appreciate, and then seeing it in real life, is the best feeling,” said Marshall.

Added Czarnowski, “My hometown team that I rooted for all my life, just shot a promo video in my shop.&nbsp; It's a reminder of how lucky we are and also how far we've come with the business.”

You can watch the full video at the following links:

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Celtics Team with Local Print Shop, Artist To Create Schedule Release Video

The Celtics went no cap for their schedule release video this season, highlighting eight of the top matchups on the calendar.

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2023-24 Schedule Release Video

Celtics Nation can’t wait to get another pursuit of Banner 18 underway. Finally, we now know what that pursuit is going to look like – at least in terms of a game schedule.

Boston’s schedule, along with those of the other 29 teams in the league, was released Thursday by the NBA and there is plenty to unpack. So, as we do each and every year, we’ve pulled all of the key information and relayed them to you as succinctly as possible below. Take a dive into the details!

Those who are looking forward to watching the Celtics on and around their holidays this upcoming season are in luck. Those who are looking forward to watching them at TD Garden? Not so much.

Boston will play the day before Thanksgiving (Bucks), the day after Thanksgiving (Orlando), on Christmas Day (Lakers), on New Year’s Eve (Spurs), and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Raptors). Unfortunately, the only home game of that bunch is the Thanksgiving Eve matchup with Milwaukee. That Christmas Day matchup with the rival Lakers should make up for it, though!

The Celtics now know their schedule for the first-ever In-Season tournament. Their Group Play schedule is listed below:

The winner of this group gets an automatic bid into the Knockout Rounds, which begin Dec. 4. Should the C’s not win their group, they’d also have a chance to advance to the Knockout Rounds by earning one of the two available wild card spots.

The Celts may wind up on the national stage even more often this season than last season, and that’s saying something.

Twenty-four of their 80 scheduled games (30 percent) will be played in front of a national audience, which matches their total a season ago. Ten will be broadcast on ESPN, nine will be on TNT, and five will be on ABC.

Should the Celtics advance into the Knockout Rounds of the In-Season Tournament, their number of national TV games will climb to at least 25.

The Celtics will play 14 back-to-backs this season, up from 13 last season. The good news, however, is that they won’t need to travel for five of them.

Surprisingly, Boston will host five back-to-backs at TD Garden. That’s more such occurrences than their last three seasons combined (four).

The most intriguing back-to-back of the season might be when the Celtics take on the Warriors and Kings, who dueled in last season’s Western Conference Playoffs, on consecutive nights in December. The C’s will play the Warriors Dec. 19 in San Francisco, and the Kings Dec. 20 in Sacramento.

Boston’s longest homestand lasts nearly half a month. It spans seven games, arriving Jan. 27 and ending Feb. 9. The Celtics will host the Clippers, Pelicans, Pacers, Lakers, Grizzlies, Hawks and Wizards, in that order, during that stretch.

The longest road trip of the season will span six games and 11 days. It begins March 22 and ends April 1. Interestingly, the Celtics won’t venture very far west during the trip, as New Orleans is the Western-most city among the six destinations.

Here are a few other noteworthy items from the schedule:

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Every Detail of the 2023-24 Celtics Schedule

We’re officially 87 days away from the Boston Celtics playing their first-ever Group Play game for the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament. But, what exactly is the in-season tournament?

After years of discussion, the NBA finally went all-in on spicing up the regular season by implementing an additional tournament. This one will be played during the first half of the season, with Group Play games being played on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 3 through Nov. 28, and a knockout tournament being played between Dec. 4 and Dec. 9. That final date, Dec. 9, will feature the Championship game, to be played in Las Vegas.

As has been well-documented, this tournament derives from that which has been utilized within European soccer. The goal is to drive a new level of excitement and interest during a period of the season which has grown to be a bit mundane.

The construction of the tournament is complicated and made up of three key elements: the Group Play Draw, the Group Play games, and the Knockout Rounds. Here’s how each of these three elements works.

The league has split its 30 teams into six groups of five teams (three groups from each conference). Each team will compete against the other four teams in its group to determine which team will advance in the tournament.

The six groups were randomly drawn based upon each team’s record from the 2022-23 regular season. Each group will feature one team that finished with one of the conference’s top three records last season, one team that finished with one of the fourth- through sixth-best records, one team that finished with one of the seventh- through ninth-best records, one team that finished with one of the 10th- through 12th-best records, and one team that finished with one of the 13th- through 15th-best records.

Boston’s group features themselves (third-best record), the Brooklyn Nets (sixth-best record), the Chicago Bulls (ninth-best record), the Toronto Raptors (tenth-best record), and the Orlando Magic (13th-best record).

We now have what the NBA is calling “Tournament Nights,” which will occur every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3 through Nov. 28 (except on Election Day on Nov. 7). Every game played on these nights will be a Group Play game.

During this stretch, each team will play one game against the other four teams in its group. Two of those games will be at home, and two will be on the road. Each of these Group Play contests will count as one regular-season game.

At the conclusion of Group Play, the leading team from each group, plus two wild card teams, will advance to the Knockout Rounds. Tie-breakers will be decided by the following criteria, in sequential order:

Here is the schedule for Boston’s Group Play games:

And here comes the fun part: single-elimination basketball. The six Group winners, plus two wild card teams, will advance from the Group Play stage and enter into a win-or-go home tournament. The quarterfinals will be played Dec. 4 and Dec. 5. The four teams that win those games will move on to play in the semifinals Dec. 7 in Las Vegas. The two winners that emerge from those games will then meet Dec. 9 in the championship game, with the winner taking home the first-ever NBA Cup.

The 22 teams that did not advance to the Knockout Rounds will have regular-season games scheduled for Dec. 6 and Dec. 8.

It’s worth noting that the title game is the only game of the In-Season Tournament that will not count toward regular-season standings or toward regular-season team and player statistics.

In the end, here’s what you need to remember: All 30 teams enter Group Play, eight advance to the Knockout Rounds, four advance to the semifinals in Vegas, and one will stand tall as the inaugural winner of the NBA Cup. That’s the long and the short of it.

As for Boston’s involvement, remember that their Group Play opponents are the Nets, the Bulls, the Raptors and the Magic, and that their Group Play games will be played Nov. 10 (Brooklyn), Nov. 17 (Toronto), Nov. 24 (Orlando), and Nov. 28 (Chicago).

Oh, and also remember that the Boston Celtics have a penchant for logging firsts in NBA history, so don’t be surprised if they wind up hoisting that trophy on Dec. 9 in Vegas.

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In-Season Tourney Explainer, from Boston's Perspective

BOSTON, MA –&nbsp;The Boston Celtics will open the 2023 preseason schedule at TD Garden against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, October 8, as part of the team’s five-game exhibition slate for the 2022-23 NBA season, the team announced today.

Boston’s preseason schedule, presented by JetBlue, continues on the road when the Celtics face the New York Knicks (Monday, October 9) and Philadelphia 76ers (Wednesday, October 11). The Celtics return home for their second matchup against the Knicks at TD Garden on Tuesday, October 17, and will head to Charlotte to conclude the preseason against the Hornets on Thursday, October 19 for the teams’ final contest.

All five of the Celtics’ preseason games will be televised live on NBC Sports Boston and streamed on the all new NBC Sports Boston app. The Network will additionally provide pregame and postgame coverage throughout the preseason. Select preseason contests will be broadcast live on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Preseason coverage will also be available to fans on Celtics.com, in addition to all Celtics social media channels.

Tickets for all Celtics home games, including the preseason, will go on sale at a later date. Fans interested in receiving email alerts with exclusive ticket opportunities, schedule updates, and more, can sign up at celtics.com/clubgreen.

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Celtics Announce 2023 Preseason Schedule

The first thing everyone does when the NBA schedule comes out is look for the spiciest games on the schedule. That’s great, but sometimes what’s missed are the fun matchups that fly under the radar.

Don’t worry: we’ve got you covered on this front. We perused the schedule and pulled our 10 most underrated games of the season, which you can find below in chronological order, along with a capsule on the opponent’s storylines.

We’re starting off with an early-season matchup against a team that was arguably the best in the league last season through the first week of January, before injuries ravaged the roster. Chicago, with newcomers DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and Lonzo Ball flanking All-Star Zach LaVine, jumped out to a 26-10 record last season before losing Ball to a season-ending injury. Chicago’s rough second half of the season likely has people forgetting just how talented of a team it is, and why this game is one that deserves attention.

Much like Chicago, the Cavaliers came out of the gates hot and maintained their strong play through mid-February, when they were at one point 35-21. They’ve got budding stars in Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, and may also have Collin Sexton coming back from a torn meniscus. This young and talented team is only going to improve, and it could very well challenge the East’s top contenders for a top-five seed in the conference.

Speaking of young and talented, Oklahoma City has been stocking up on young talent for a couple of years now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has already emerged as a budding star, and Josh Giddey is right behind him. Throw in 7-foot-1, do-it-all rookie Chet Holmgren, and you’ve got an opponent that will certainly be fun to watch this season as it takes on the Celtics.

Two straight home games against the same team? It’s happening in mid-December against an Orlando team that’s patiently waiting to break through for a solid season. Orlando finished with the East’s worst record last season but then landed the No. 1 overall pick and selected Paolo Banchero. The Magic think he can be a franchise cornerstone, and we’re all about to find out if they’re correct on that belief.

Keep your eyes on the Rockets this season. They’re going to surprise people with some big games. That’s much ado to the arrival of Jabari Smith Jr., who many believed was the top prospect in the Draft but fell to Houston at No. 3. Smith Jr. joins a fun, athletic core that includes Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr. and Jae’Sean Tate. This team might not win 40 or 50 games, but it’s going to have some blockbuster highlights and will consistently challenge opponents like the Celtics.

The Pelicans were one of the better teams in the league over the final two-plus months of last season, going 18-14 over their final 32 games. And that was without superstar talent Zion Williamson, who returns to the lineup this season alongside Brandon Ingram and newcomer CJ McCollum. This team is long, athletic and skilled, and it’s primed to make noise in the Western Conference.

From two straight home games against Orlando, to two straight away games in Charlotte. The C’s will take on LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Gordon Hayward and the Hornets two out of three nights in mid-January, and these matchups are always fun. Charlotte is a good team that many will overlook. With all of those former Celtics on the other side, it’s safe to assume Boston will not make that mistake.

The Pistons are coming off of a 23-win season, but they’ve got to feel good about the foundation they are building. Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham, was fantastic during his first season and they just added Jaden Ivey via the No. 5 overall pick in the Draft. Those youngsters are surrounded by a bunch of capable veterans such as Saddiq Bey (third year), Kelly Olynyk, Nerlens Noel and Cory Joseph. This team isn’t ready to win a ton of games, but it is ready to show growth and to climb out of the NBA’s cellar.

Portland doesn’t usually fly under the radar, but following a season during which superstar Damian Lillard missed the final 47 games, some might forget just how entertaining and dangerous a team can be when it has the electric scoring guard leading the way. Lillard now has veterans Jerami Grant, Joe Ingles, Josh Hart and Jusuf Nurkic surrounding him, along with Gary Payton II, who just won a title in Golden State. This team will be a challenging opponent each and every night.

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The 10 Most Underrated Games on the 2022-23 Celtics Schedule

It’s time to mark your calendars, folks. The 2022-23 NBA schedule has been released.

To no surprise, the reigning Eastern Conference champions, the Boston Celtics, are a team the league has highlighted across the calendar. That’s what happens when you have the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and when you maintain the roster that came within two wins of a title while adding impact players like Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari.

So let’s dive in and take a look at what this schedule has to offer. Throw on your reading glasses, and prepare to take notes and set some reminders; it’s time to plan your schedule around another pursuit of Banner 18.

The Celtics are playing on or around every major national holiday this regular season. The list includes Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Easter.

The holiday fun begins with two matchups that are sandwiched around Thanksgiving. First, the C’s will host Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN Nov. 23, the night before Thanksgiving. Then, they’ll host De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and the Kings at 8 p.m. the night after Thanksgiving.

Boston will play on Christmas for the seventh consecutive year, this time hosting Giannis Antetokoumpo and the Bucks at 5 p.m. This is the second straight season the two teams will meet on Christmas.

The Celtics wrap up their holiday games with a road tilt against the Chicago Bulls at 2 p.m. on MLK Day (Jan. 16), and with a regular-season finale at 1 p.m. on Easter (April 9) against the Hawks.

Boston is slated to play 24 games across the league’s national broadcast channels, ABC, ESPN and TNT. Eleven of those matchups will be played on ESPN, eight will be played on TNT, and five will be played on ABC.

The first national TV game arrives on Opening Night, when the C’s will play host to the 76ers at 7:30 p.m. on TNT. All four Celtics-Sixers games this season will be played in front of national TV audience.

A Finals rematch between the Celtics and the Warriors will be broadcasted nationally on Dec. 10 on ABC. And everyone wants to know when the Celtics and Lakers meet, so here you go: Dec. 13 on TNT from LA, and Jan. 28 on ABC from TD Garden.

The number of back-to-backs on Boston’s schedule this season is 13, which is a decrease of two from the previous season. That’s a good thing for the Celtics. Another good thing is that of the 13 games on the back end of back-to-backs, only six will be played against teams that made the Playoffs last season.

At the other end of the spectrum is the fact that eight of the 13 games played on the front end of back-to-backs will be played against teams that qualified for last season’s Playoffs. Additionally, five of the back-to-backs will be played entirely on the road, including two straight games against the LA teams on Dec. 12 and Dec. 13, first against the Clippers, and then against the Lakers.

Celtics season ticket members will get a heavy dose of live game action during the latter half of December. Boston will play seven straight games at TD Garden from Dec. 16 through Dec. 29, marking their longest homestand with all games being played at the home arena since January of 1980, per the team’s PR department. (The team had seven-game homestands in 1986 and 1993, but each of those included a game played in Hartford, CT.)

This season’s seven-gamer includes consecutive home games against the Orlando Magic on Dec. 16 and Dec. 18, and it ends with a matchup against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers on Dec. 29. Surprisingly, the C’s also have a six-game homestand spanning from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2.

The unfortunate part of having two lengthy homestands is that you’re going to be hit with some lengthy road trips. Boston will play a six-game trip from Dec. 4 to Dec. 13, and then two separate five-game trips, one right after Opening Night from Oct. 21 to Oct. 28, and another from Nov. 23 to Nov. 30.

This schedule is extremely balanced in terms of monthly game loads. The team is scheduled to play 15 games during each of the four full months of the season (November, December, January and March). November marks the month with the most home games, with nine, while January marks the month with the most road games, with 10.

Boston will play seven games during the final two-ish weeks of October, it will play 11 games around the All-Star break during February, and it will play four during April before the postseason begins.

As always, there are a few quirks associated with Boston’s schedule., the first of which is playing the same team in consecutive games in the same city. This is a rare occurrence in the NBA, yet Boston will play this rare scenario out three times this season. The first instance will occur at home against Orlando on Dec. 16 and Dec. 18, the next will take place on Jan. 14 and Jan. 16 in Charlotte against the Hornets, and the last will unfold on April 5 and April 7 at home against Toronto.

Thursday is Boston’s lightest game day of the season, as it will play on only seven of the season’s 25 Thursdays. Interestingly, though, they’ll play on all four Thursdays during January, including three straight to start the month against Dallas on Jan. 5, Brooklyn on Jan. 12, and Golden State on Jan. 19. All three of those games will be broadcast on TNT.

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Breaking Down the 2022-23 Celtics Schedule

The 2021-22 NBA schedule – the full schedule, we might add – is out, and that means the Boston Celtics’ season is comin’ in hot.

Friday’s release of the full slate of games is a welcomed return to normalcy for the world of basketball following a 2019-20 season that was put on hiatus, and an abbreviated 2020-21 season that ran through July 20.

The Celtics are now gearing up for their full schedule while looking to return to the top echelon of the conference following a disappointing 2020-21 campaign. There’s a lot to take in from their 82-game schedule, so let’s dive into the most important notes you need to know heading into Opening Night on Oct. 20.

As is typical for the most historically rich franchise in the sport of basketball, the Celtics will be highlighted on and around multiple holidays this upcoming season.

The holiday get-togethers begin the day before Halloween, as the Celtics are set to take on the Wizards at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30 in D.C. Boston will next play into the holiday theme the day before and the day after Thanksgiving, which is a recent tradition for the team. They’ll open up that stretch with a spicy 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Nets Nov. 24 at TD Garden, before taking on the Spurs at 7:30 p.m. the day after Thanksgiving in San Antonio.

Boston is set to play on Christmas Day for the sixth consecutive year, as it will take on the Bucks at 2:30 p.m. in Milwaukee on ABC. It will also close out 2021 by hosting the Magic for a 7:30 tip off on New Year’s Eve.

There is only one holiday on which the C’s are scheduled to play in 2022, and that holiday is an important one to the league: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Boston returns to playing on MLK day after a year off, as it is scheduled to host Zion Williamson and the Pelicans for a 1 p.m. matchup on Jan. 18 at TD Garden.

In a similar vein to the holiday games, the NBA wants to highlight these Celtics in front of a national audience. That’s why Boston is scheduled to play 21 of its 82 games – good for 25.6 percent – on national TV.

Eleven of those games will be played on ESPN, with the first arriving on Opening Night against the New York Knicks. Boston will play six times on TNT, including a stretch of four games from Feb. 8 through March 3. Its four ABC games will be played against Milwaukee on Christmas Day, against Atlanta on Feb. 13, against Brooklyn on March 6, and against Dallas on March 13.

First-year head coach Ime Udoka can’t be excited about the amount of back-to-backs his team was dealt for this season, especially considering that two of them will be played during a five-game trip out West that includes five contests against playoff teams from last season. Boston is scheduled to play 15 back-to-backs in all, compared to the league average of 13.7. On top of that, four of those back-to-backs require changing time zones for the second game, which is also above the league average of 3.5.

There are a few other notes that jump out regarding Boston’s back-to-backs. The C’s will play the two LA teams – both considered to be title contenders if healthy – on back-to-back days on Dec. 7 and 8 in Los Angeles. They’ll also play the revamped Miami Heat (Nov. 4) and the defending-champion Milwaukee Bucks (April 7) on the second night of a back-to-back.

Lastly, Boston will take on its budding divisional rival, the Knicks, twice on the second night of a back-to-back. The first such game will be played Dec. 18 at TD Garden, and the second will be played Jan. 6 at Madison Square Garden. As is well known by both teams’ fan bases, the Knicks swooped in and added both Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier this offseason after both players competed last season for the C’s.

There are no extended homestands or road trips for Boston this season. Each will max out at five games, as the team will play a five-game road trip from Dec. 3-10 that will be immediately followed by a five-game homestand from Dec. 13-22. That homestand spans only five games, but the C’s will be in Boston for 13 consecutive days until they travel to Milwaukee for the Christmas Day game.

The Celtics will also play two four-game road trips, one from Nov. 3-8 and another from March 16-21, and one four-game homestand from Jan. 15-21.

The monthly breakdown of Boston’s schedule is rather consistent. The team will play between 15 and 17 games from November through January, maxing out at 17 during November. March is the month that is the least dense, as the C’s will play only 14 games, eight of which will be played at home.

The team’s top month in terms of home games will be January, when 10 of its 16 games will be played inside the confines of TD Garden. Its heaviest road month will be November, which will feature nine of 17 games being played on the road.