The Difficult December facing The Boston Celtics

Entering the month of December at 11-10 and in a 5-way tie for 7th place in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics have a grueling December ahead of them. Throughout the NBA, Boston has the toughest December schedule with 15 games, all of which are against teams with a record of .500 or better. Out of those 15 games, 8 of them are against an opponent ranking in the top 10 defensively. The Milwaukee Bucks currently have the 11th ranked defense, but since Kris Middleton returned from injury 7 games ago, they shot up to the number 1 defense since then (11/17). The Philadelphia 76ers defense is currently ranked 20th in the league, but Joel Embiid has been activated after being on the injury report for COVID, missing 9 games. With the 3x all NBA defender, the 76ers are a much better team offensively and defensively. Boston starts their wild month tonight (12/1) against Philadelphia before heading on the road until 12/13, with only Jaylen Brown listed as questionable due to his nagging hamstring injury. Hopefully he ends up becoming available for tonights contest.

Image from: poundingtherock.com

The Boston Celtics December schedule:

12/1 vs. 76ers (11-10)

12/3 at Utah (14-7)

12/4 at Portland (11-11)

12/7 at Los Angeles Lakers (12-11)

12/8 at Los Angeles Clippers (11-10)

12/10 at Pheonix (18-3)

12/13 vs Bucks (13-8)

12/17 vs Warriors (18-3)

12/18 vs Knicks (11-10)

12/20 vs 76ers (11-10)

12/22 vs Cavaliers (11-10)

12/25 at Milwaukee (13-8)

12/27 at Minnesota (11-10)

12/29 vs Clippers (11-10)

12/31 vs Suns (18-3)

With an average winning percentage of 0.610, every one of Boston’s opponents will be a challenge for the young team. If the Celtics can come out of December with a record of at least 8-7 I would consider that a success. However, of course, I would love if they finished the month 15-0.