Pressure and Expectations: Celtics 22/23 Season Review
With all of the Kevin Durant rumors in the past, the Boston Celtics have their eyes fully set on what they will see next season.
Last season, Boston was the hunter, just trying to prove people wrong in a year that many thought was lost by December. After a stellar offseason, second-year head coach Ime Udoka leads a loaded Brad Stevens-built roster that now has the Celtics highlighted everywhere on the league schedule.
13 back-to-backs and 37 nationally televised games highlight Boston's schedule throughout the season, which is the third most in the league behind only the defending champion Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers. Last season, the Celtics had 15 back-to-backs, three of which Boston did not travel outside the TD Garden. It is the fewest back-to-backs in the NBA since the 2019-20 season. This season, the average number of back-to-backs in the league is 13.3, with most teams ranging from 12-15. Adam Silver and the league are prioritizing rest for players using the power of the schedule and trying to limit the number of games star players will miss due to load management.
C/O: Getty Images
Keeping players rested, especially Al Horford, and players that are susceptible to injuries late in the season is going to be essential if the Celtics want to make a run back to the promised land in June. From two months filled with more home games than road ones in November and December to a season-defying January where the Celtics have 10 of its 15 contests that month away from TD Garden.
Nine out of the 16 games in November are on the parquet floor, while the final seven games in the final month of 2022 are in Boston. Two road back-to-backs in Los Angeles and against the Raptors and Nets will be tough in December. However, a massive home stretch, without a doubt, will motivate this team to get through several potential contenders away from home.
Boston kicks off the first month of 2023 with a four-game road trip that includes two games against teams that are being treated as potential contenders in the Western Conference: the Mavericks and the new-look Nuggets, with Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. back on the floor. The Celtics were 18-12 against the West last season but went 0-4 against Dallas and the Clippers. With superstar Luka Doncic seeking his first MVP and Los Angeles getting a healthy team back, Boston will want to mark those four games on its calendars.
After the painful loss, the Celtics have their eyes set on a return to the NBA Finals. Having been an assistant with the Spurs and experiencing many painful blows in his career, Udoka spoke on the need to come back stronger this upcoming season, stating, "We've seen what we can achieve and it hurts that we fell short of that...But what I did say was, the future is bright and we're just getting started. So let's all come back better from this experience... Let's not be satisfied with getting here... It's not guaranteed you're going to get here. The East is getting tougher every year. Come back better. We will as a staff as well."
Just like last season, January will tell a lot about where this team is and if the championship aspirations at the beginning of the season are real.
Matchups against Denver, Dallas, Toronto, and Miami away from home are statement contests that tell the NBA that this Boston team is ready to finish what it could not in its previous campaign. A slow start to the season was what nearly defined the Celtics' season last year. But if this team thinks a start like that will fly, Boston will be up for a rude awakening given the matchups to begin the season.
The Celtics lost five of their first seven games last season. Games against a determined Philadelphia 76ers squad and a road trip to face the Miami Heat are statement games for Udoka, who has to have what happened to start the season last year in the back of his mind. The Celtics have to send a message to the rest of the league against two of the Eastern Conference's best to kick off the season.
After the Magic, Boston has two games against a surging Cleveland squad and a Bulls team that has plenty of motivation to not experience the slide they did towards the end of the season last year. In the previous campaign, Boston got embarrassed by Chicago on their home floor in the team's first contest of the season, with the Celtics giving up 39 points in the final quarter of play.
C/O: The Associated Press
For yet another season, Boston will be known as the hunted, trying to stay alive with the rest of the league attempting to chase it.
An NBA Finals appearance for the first time as a franchise since 2010 and the two quality additions during the offseason add to the expectations of this ultra-talented team. However, it will be up to them to deal with all of the ups and downs of an NBA regular season and be as consistent as possible.
Udoka and the Celtics learned how difficult it is to recover after a slow start. The No. 1 goal for Boston has to be to begin the season like every game means something. Each game on the schedule matters, from tie-breakers late in the season to races for seeding. That is how this Celtics team needs to approach each contest night in and night out.
Championship windows are small, and with the door wide open, Boston needs to run right through it. That all begins with a storied regular season telling the league that this team means business when the postseason comes around.
