The Boston Celtics season will begin on Tuesday night in Cleveland as Kyrie Irving returns to take on the Cavaliers. Here’s how I see that and every game playing out this season.
Kyrie Irving. Gordon Hayward. Al Horford. Marcus Smart. Jaylen Brown. Terry Rozier. Jayson Tatum. This Boston Celtics team is loaded, and they’re ready to make a run at an NBA title in 2017-18.
The season begins on Tuesday in Cleveland, and the Celtics will look to open up with a bang. Kyrie Irving will be playing his first game in Celtics green, and he’ll do it against his former team. LeBron James is day-to-day with an injury, but there’s no way he misses this one. The two stars are ready to clash.
Boston though will also have superstar Gordon Hayward on their side. Oh, and Al Horford, who may be the best passing big in the NBA, too. For now, it looks like those three will start along with second-year player Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum. That means that Marcus Smart will be the team’s sparkplug as the 6th man and the first man off the bench. Don’t be surprised if he’s out there to finish games as well.
Here, I’ve done my best to predict the outcome of each Boston Celtics game for the 2017-18 NBA season. I also made my playoff predictions, and Boston will definitely make a deep run/ Without further ado, here are my predictions for your Boston Celtics.
October
17th: at Cleveland Cavaliers (W)
Well, well, well, LeBron. Looks like you ran Kyrie out of town, and we’re sure glad you did. He’s the next era of basketball in Boston, and he’s going to start it with a win over you on his old court. This will obviously be a close game, but I think the Celtics offense is going to take the Cavaliers by surprise.
18th: v. Milwaukee Bucks (W)
20th: at Philadelphia 76ers (W)
Markelle Fultz was almost a member of the Boston Celtics, but Danny Ainge decided Jayson Tatum was the better player. I have to agree now after seeing him in the Summer League and in the preseason. Tatu was the right choice. Boston will prove it with an easy win over a Philly team that’s still a few pieces away from truly competing.
24th: v. New York Knicks (W)
26th: at Milwaukee Bucks (L)
Boston’s first loss will come on the road against the ‘Greek Freak’ Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Don’t fret Celtics fans, I think the Bucks are going to be a surprisingly good team this season, and when all is said and done this loss won’t look so bad.
28th: at Miami Heat (W)
30th: v. San Antonio Spurs (W)
Record: 6-1
6-1 is a very solid record to have through the first half month of the NBA season. Boston will likely be in charge in the NBA’s Eastern Conference very early on.
November
1st: v. Sacramento Kings (W)
3rd: at Oklahoma City Thunder (L)
OKC added a new piece for Russell Westbrook to play with: Carmelo Anthony. That may not be enough to compete in the Western Conference, but against the East, they’re going to be a very tough team. I think Boston will struggle on the road a bit early on in the season and this is a game I can see them dropping.
5th: at Orlando Magic (W)
6th: at Atlanta Hawks (W)
8th: v. Los Angeles Lakers (W)
10th: v. Charlotte Hornets (W)
12th: v. Toronto Raptors (W)
14th: at Brooklyn Nets (W)
16th: v. Golden State Warriors (L)
Boston’s 6-game winning streak will end with a tough loss at home to the reigning NBA Champions. Golden State simply has too much firepower with Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant. The Celtics will see them again though, and maybe get some revenge down the road.
18th: at Atlanta Hawks (W)
20th: at Dallas Mavericks (W)
22nd: at Miami Heat (W)
24th: v. Orlando Magic (W)
25th: at Indiana Pacers (L)
Struggles on the road, like I said before. The Pacers are a team the Celtics can beat easily, but I think this team will take some time to come together. It’s literally a whole new squad this year with only 4 remaining players.
27th: v. Detroit Pistons (W)
30th: v. Philadelphia 76ers (W)
Record: 19-4
Can you ask for anything more than this from the Celtics to begin the year? A 19-4 recod would mean Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward have found a way to balance one another, while Al Horford continues to be the unsung hero and leader. This is perfect so far.
December
2nd: v. Phoenix Suns (W)
4th: v. Milwaukee Bucks (W)
6th: v. Dallas Mavericks (W)
8th: at San Antonio Spurs (L)
Another road loss. Boston is going to be a great team at home, so expect most of their losses to come away from TD Garden. The Spurs may not be what they once were, but they are an extremely competitive team. Khawi Leonard can single-handily win San Antonio some games, and he will come to play in a big-time matchup with Boston.
10th: at Detroit Pistons (W)
11th: at Chicago Bulls (W)
13th: v. Denver Nuggets (W)
15th: v. Utah Jazz (W)
16th: at Memphis Grizzlies (W)
18th: at Indiana Pacers (W)
20th: v. Miami Heat (W)
After that loss to the Spurs, Boston will rattle off seven W’s in a row in a 10 day period. Even with 2 sets of back-to-back games and a ton of travel, the Celtics will have a great stretch before the holidays.
21st: at New York Knicks (L)
23rd: v. Chicago Bulls (W)
25th: v. Washington Wizards (W)
A Christmas Day matchup with the Washington Wizards just feels right, doesn’t it? The Morris twins will clash, but the story here as always will be facing John Wall. Boston will dominate this one though, and the rest of the NBA will be forced to take notice of the best team in the East.
27th: at Charlotte Hornets (W)
28th: v. Houston Rockets (L)
31st: v. Brooklyn Nets (W)
Boston will win another holiday game, this time against the Nets on New Year’s Eve. Brooklyn isn’t as bad as they have been the past few years, but they’re still not a playoff team. This is an easy win to close out the month.
Record: 33-7
Through 40 games, this is right where you want to be. Boston is on cruise control as they flip the calendar to 2018.
January
3rd: v. Cleveland Cavaliers (L)
This time, the Cavaliers get some revenge on the Celtics in Boston. These two teams are going to play such close games, that this one may come down to the final possession with the ball in LeBron’s hands. He’ll find a way to win it for Cleveland.
5th: v. Minnesota Timberwolves (L)
The first losing streak of the season will last just 2-games, but it will be tough since it’s two home games. Jimmy Butler is now on the Minnesota Timberwolves and that’s a huge addition for them. With Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns, the T-Wolves have a pretty good team.
6th: at Brooklyn Nets (W)
11th: at Philadelphia 76ers in London (W)
16th: v. New Orleans Pelicans (L)
18th: v. Philadelphia 76ers (L)
21st: v. Orlando Magic (W)
23rd: at Los Angeles Lakers (W)
24th: at Los Angeles Clippers (W)
27th: at Golden State Warriors (L)
Sorry, Boston, no revenge here. I’ll be close though if that makes you feel any better.
29th: at Denver Nuggets (W)
31st: v. New York Knicks (W)
Record: 40-12
5 losses in January makes this the worst month of the Boston Celtics season so far. Fans will begin to moan and groan about something I’m sure, but Boston will still be in 1st place. Just relax, and let the team grow.
February
2nd: v. Atlanta Hawks (W)
4th: v. Portland Trailblazers (W)
6th: at Toronto Raptors (W)
8th: at Washington Wizards (L)
9th: at Indiana Pacers (L)
11th: v. Cleveland Cavaliers (L)
3 losses in a row is not a good look. I told you not to worry before Celtics fans, but I feel like this is where the Cavaliers begin to make a run at the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Luckily for Boston, the NBA All-Star break is coming up soon, and they’ll have a chance to regroup for the second half of the season.
14th: v. Los Angeles Clippers (W)
23rd: at Detroit Pistons (W)
This game is going to be a post-All-Star break blowout. Boston will win by at least 20 points (sorry Avery Bradley) to show that they aren’t falling apart and are still the team to beat in the conference.
24th: at New York Knicks (W)
26th: v. Memphis Grizzlies (W)
28th: v. Charlotte Hornets (W)
Record: 48-15
Stretching back to the game before the All-Star break, the Boston Celtics will end a rocky February with 5 wins in a row over the Clippers, Pistons, Knicks, Grizzlies, and Hornets. None of those team are NBA title contenders, but they’re not slouches either. The Celtics will have the chance to make a few statements down the stretch with blowouts and big games.
March
3rd: at Houston Rockets (L)
5th: at Chicago Bulls (L)
8th: at Minnesota Timberwolves (W)
11th: v. Indiana Pacers (W)
14th: v. Washington Wizards (W)
16th: at Orlando Magic (L)
18th: at New Orleans Pelicans (L)
20th: v. Oklahoma City Thunder (L)
23rd: at Portland Trailblazers (W)
25th: at Sacramento Kings (W)
26th: at Phoenix Suns (W)
28th: at Utah Jazz (L)
31st: v. Toronto Raptors (W)
Record: 55-21
6 losses in March!? To the Jazz? To the Magic? Hey, stuff happens. Boston is going to hit rough patches and have bad games, they aren’t going to go 82-0 no matter how badly we’d love them to. They will lose to bad teams at some point, but they will always find a way to bounce back as the season draws to a close. The playoffs are quickly approaching, and Boston will be in fight with Cleveland down the stretch to hold onto the top spot in the East. Buckle up for one crazy ride in April.
April
3rd: at Milwaukee Bucks (L)
4th: at Toronto Raptors (L)
I told you to buckle up didn’t I? The Bucks and Raptors are really good teams that will also be jockeying for their playoff spots. On the road for both on back-to-bck nights is going to be tough for the Celtics. These two losses early in the month don’t look good, and things will certainly tighten up.
6th: v. Chicago Bulls (W)
8th: v. Atlanta Hawks (L)
10th: at Washington Wizards (L)
11th: v. Brooklyn Nets (W)
Well, at least the Celtics find a way to finish the season with a win, even if it’s only over the Brooklyn Nets.
Record: 57-25
So, while the last few months haven’t been as great as the first few, at least the Celtics will finish with a tremendous 57-25 record, good for the top seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference. The Cavaliers will finish just 1 or 2 games behind though, so you know a battle is coming in the playoffs. Also, while the world seems to think the East is weak, don’t expect a cake walk in the early rounds of the playoffs. Teams will be aiming to strike down both Boston and Cleveland.
First Round
#1 Boston Celtics over #8 Philadelphia 76ers in 4 games
Philly is not a great team, but in the Eastern Conference, they can play well enough to claim the last playoff seed. Boston will march all over them with their star power. Joel Embiid, Markelle Fultz, and Ben Simmons are not enough to take on even just Boston’s big 3. Add in Tatum, Brown, and Smart, and the Sixers have no chance in a series against the Celtics.
I’d expect Kyrie Irving to be the MVP in this series, taking over games and leading in scoring and assists. He’s the top star on Boston’s roster. Gordon Hayward will step up at times too, but Kyrie will be the man with the ball in his hands more often than not. For this series, I think he can average 28 points and 8 assists per game.
Boston wins this easily in 4 games, with 2 blowouts and 2 close calls. It’ll be fun to watch Boston beat up on the extremely slow “process”.
Second Round
#1 Boston Celtics over #4 Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games
This is where things will start to get tough for the Boston Celtics in the playoffs. A couple of losses to the Bucks in the regular season only adds to the intrigue here. Giannis will take over some games, as he’s one of the best players in the league. Milwaukee has the ability to push the Celtics, and they will force this series to 6 games. Boston won’t let it get to 7 though and they’ll beat the Bucks in Game 6 in Milwaukee to close things out.
Conference Finals
#1 Boston Celtics over #2 Cleveland Cavaliers in 7 games
Of course, the #1 Boston Celtics and #2 Cleveland Cavaliers will meet once again in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals.
Isaiah Thomas was Boston’s ringleader last season, but now he’s on the other side of this series. LeBron James though will have to carry the load for the Cavaliers. He’ll have to do so with Jaylen Brown all over him. Another year in the league is going to be huge for Brown, and I really think he has the ability to step up in this series defensively.
Offensively, you know Kyrie Irving is going to want to stick it to LeBron and his former team. Gordon Hayward, therefore, should find himself with plenty of open opportunities. Kyrie will draw the defense in, dump it to Hayward, and BOOM. That’s how it’ll go in the wins for Boston, but they certainly won’t sweep here.
Home court advantage will be huge in Game 7. An electric TD Garden should play host to a very close game, with Boston edging out Cleveland for the victory to head to the 2018 NBA Finals.
NBA Finals
#1 Golden State Warriors over #1 Boston Celtics in 4 games
Well, this is where the train stops rolling for Boston in 2018. The Golden State Warriors will once again represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals, and there is no slowing that dynasty. As long as Steph, KD, Draymond, and Klay are on the same team, they’re likely to win the championship. It’s just too tough to stop them or even slow them down.
Sadly, I think Golden State would roll over Boston in 4 straight games to win another NBA title.
Next: Boston needs to extend Marcus Smart ASAP
Season Overview
I think Boston losing in the NBA Finals would still be a very successful season. This team will continue to grow and develop so don’t be surprised to see them in the Finals again soo, they may even add Banner 18 to the Garden rafters. Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Al Horford are a new style and era of Boston basketball, and they’re going to be a lot of fun to watch this season.
Let me know your predictions on Twitter @CandCFansided!