Boston Celtics: A deep-dive Into the first half of the C’s 2020-21 Schedule

The Breath Catching Stage

• 10 Games
• Level of Difficulty: Easy
• 4,155 miles traveled
• 2 back-to-backs

Sit back and relax — well, at least sort of — as the Boston Celtics will play their most manageable chunk of the schedule during mid-January.

After a challenging first ten, the Cs can finally catch their breath with a four-game stretch against the Bulls, Magic (twice), and the Knicks, three of which come at home. One could also dub this the experimental stage as these matchups may allow this team to try out new wrinkles with their rotations.

Why not try and run the slow-footed Cavaliers out of the gym by playing Grant Williams at the center spot?

Why not experiment with a micro-ball Jayson Tatum at the five lineups for four minutes?

Why not revert to an old Brad Stevens classic and play four guards at a time?

All of the answers to these questions could become clearer during this newly dubbed experimental stage.

In the middle of this schedule are two series style games in Philadelphia, where the Celtics get their first look at the optimized, “Morey-ized” 76ers, a crucial two-game test for both teams.

Concluding the breath-catching stage, Boston will play three very winnable games in four nights against the Cavaliers, Bulls, and Spurs before returning home. The Celtics will have two back-to-back travel games, both involving exactly 852 miles of travel each way, both to and from Chicago.