So far at the start of the NBA season, the Boston Celtics have been on a roll. Boston improved to 5-1 on the season following a 108-97 victory over the Orlando Magic. Jayson Tatum once again led the way, finishing with 32 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Playing the Magic kicked off the November stretch of games that is headlined by the first game against Jaylen Brown and the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, November 10. While that is the top game this month, November is going to be a great test for the Celtics.
In the month of November, Boston is playing 16 games, with 12 of them being on the road(including yesterday's win over the Orlando Magic). During November, Boston will also have four sets of back-to-back games.
As challenging as the schedule for November can be, this is a great test early in the season for the Celtics and can give us a great look at just how good they are.
The Celtics' November schedule is great early-season test
Boston getting this challenging November schedule should be viewed as a blessing in disguise. Coming into the season, it was fair to question how good the Celtics would be after trading away Jaylen Brown for Paul George. So far, what the Celtics have shown us is positive, and George has been a good fit for Boston.
That's what makes this November stretch exciting: they'll have the chance to show just how good of a team they can be. Stretches like this in the NBA will always be challenging, but they can also help improve the team. While the aforementioned matchup with Philly is easily the most anticipated game of the month(and maybe the season), Boston will be up against more contenders as well.
Looking at the schedule, Boston has multiple games with teams that are looking to return to the playoffs and have hopes of winning the championship. Excluding the game against Philly and tonight's game against the Rockets, Boston will take on the Toronto Raptors (Wed., November 11), a rematch with the Magic (Mon., November 16), the Denver Nuggets (Wed., November 18), the Atlanta Hawks (Fri., November 27), and the San Antonio Spurs (Sun., November 29). Those are just the teams that made the playoffs last year, as Boston will also take on the improved Dallas Mavericks twice this month (Sun., November 15, and Mon., November 30), and will be on the road when they play Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors (Sun., November 22).
Not every game will be tough for Boston, but most will be. If the Celtics can finish the month with multiple wins against some of the top teams, then it could bode well for their playoff hopes. Obviously, Boston won't go perfect in the month of November, as that's just not a realistic goal, but coming away with a positive record would go a long way in showing how good of a team the Celtics are this year.
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