Boston Celtics: 3 most exciting games from the 2021-22 schedule release
Boston Celtics exciting game No. 1: October 20 @ New York Knicks
The Celtics open their season with a trip out to Madison Square Garden to take on the up and coming New York Knicks, and it’s rightfully the most exciting game on Boston’s regular season schedule. Not only is it the first time we will get to see the C’s in action on the season, but there are so many interesting storylines between these two teams that it should make for a great game of basketball.
Those storylines will most likely involve the new Knicks duo of Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, who if you recall, were just part of the most recent Celtics team. After trading Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder, he was bought out and then quickly signed by his hometown team in New York. And after using a big chunk of their Gordon Hayward trade exception on Fournier, the Celtics eventually reached a sign-and-trade deal sending him to New York.
How these two perform will ultimately reflect largely on Stevens first few moves as President of Basketball Ops. Walker was traded almost immediately after the season ended, and it’s fair to wonder if there is some bad blood between the two. Not to mention Fournier was quite an expensive rental, and Stevens was lucky to receive another trade exemption once he departed for the Knicks.
These two struggled mightily to succeed this past season in Boston, and it will be interesting to see how they do this upcoming season. Pundits have lauded the Knicks for their crafty rebuilding of their roster, as Walker went from making over $35 million a season to making below $10 million now. But the way these guys struggled last season, it feels a bit preemptive to crown the Knicks king for making these moves.
These storylines are just part of the picture, as the actual game should be enticing as well. The Knicks were an overachiever last season, while the Celtics were underachievers. Despite that, the C’s still have Tatum and Brown leading the way, while Knicks superstar Julius Randle has some new companions in Walker and Fournier to try to help him pull out a victory.
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There’s nothing better than the opening night of the season, and the fact that Boston gets a chance to hand their longtime rivals a loss on their home court is a tantalizing proposition. There will be no quicker way to find out whether Boston’s offseason work was worth it than their opening night contest against the Knicks, and hopefully it will be the start of a great season for the Celtics.