Take a look at the 2009-10 schedule for the Boston Celtics and it's
easy to get hyped about the upcoming season.
Two months… what seems like forever since our basketball season came to a dramatic and abrupt end at the hands of the Magic is finally taking its rightful place in the rearview mirror. In two months we all will have the opportunity to set our sights on the future and forget about the past. I don’t know about you, but I’m more than looking forward to it.
After a slow and plodding summer, highlighted by the signing of new Celt Rasheed Wallace, the league has finally supplied us with something else to get our minds percolating when it comes to b-ball in Beantown; the NBA schedule. That’s a little under sixty days folks; but if you’re planning on seeing the Boston Celtics live, you only have a few weeks to get your own agendas together, mark your calendars, and figure out, when the ball drops on individual ticket sales on August 27th, what the ‘can’t miss’ games of the season are going to turn out to be; now that’s a worthwhile endeavor.
But whether you’re sitting on the sofa, slipping down to your local or seeing the action live and in your face, here are some of the games we can look forward to this upcoming season:
Wednesday, October 7 – 7:30pm @ Houston Rockets
Preseason begins at the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, TX to take on what will be a Yao Ming-less Rockets team that, devoid of the 7’ 6” center that has long been the poster child for Houston basketball due to fractured foot surgery, will be searching for a bit of identity, especially up the middle. Don’t expect to see too much of what we can expect from the Green Machine this year, however. It is preseason after all, and with all of the 30-something legs still getting stretched out, you can count on Doc Rivers getting a good look at what the bench is going to look like this year.
Tuesday, October 27th – 7:30pm @ Cleveland Cavaliers
Though it’s nothing like the start last season where LeBron James and Co. were front and center to see the raising of the NBA Championship Banner before getting downed 90-85, the opening of the regular season in Cleveland is sure to spark its own set of storylines. As you know, the Cavs added their own big man this summer in one Shaquille O’Neal. Is it going to be enough to get them over the Conference Finals hump before Lebron exits stage left? The Celts are going to have something to say about it. Expect a playoff-like atmosphere with both teams looking to make a statement that they are the team to beat in the rough and tumble East.
Wednesday, October 28th – 7:30 - Charlotte Bobcats
Finally! After a long and arduous summer, the TD Banknorth Garden will be buzzing with NBA basketball once again. The Charlotte Bobcats will be looking to build on their respectable, if not post-season bound, season while we will have our first chance to see with our own eyes what the Boston Celtics are going to look like this year. And if you’re starting to feel the buzz like I am, you better make sure to jump on tickets as soon as they are available. It’s going to be electric.
Friday, October 30th – 7:30pm - Chicago Bulls
OK, so we’re opening the season on the road, right? Well, the NBA is looking to make amends for that with the second home game of the season a thriller against the upstart Chicago Bulls. You’re familiar with the Bulls, right… You know, the team that pushed the Celts to the bring in the first round of the playoffs last season before Ray Allen rose up to send the good guys to the semis with a 109-99 victory? Expect the rivalry to pick up right where it left off live and in our faces.
Friday, November 20th – 8:00pm - Orlando Magic
Revenge is a dish best served cold, and we’re going to have quite a bit of time to think about how we want to serve it when the Orlando Magic make their first appearance of the season on November 30th. As the defending Eastern Conference Champions, the Magic have to be considered the team to beat this season. The Celtics will look to show the world that, save for a couple of key injuries that sent them into a tailspin last season, they are primed and ready to prove they are contenders. Rest assured... this will be war.
Wednesday, January 20th – 7:30pm @ Detroit Pistons
In mid January, Rasheed Wallace travels back to Detroit in what is sure to be a spectacle for the ages. After six years and a championship as a Piston, Sheed will make his return as a newly-minted member of the Boston Celtics. I don’t know about you, but whoever said you can’t go home again got it dead wrong. I love it when the emotion ratchets up and hometown heroes that have moved onto greener pastures, literally, get a chance to feel the love they deserve. Set the Tivo because there is nothing like a montage to get athletes all teary eyed the first time they step on a court they dominated for such a long time.
Sunday, January 31st – 3:30pm - Los Angeles Lakers
I know, quite a wait until the defending NBA Champion Lakers come to town, but when Kobe Bryant, newly-signed Ron Artest, and the rest of the LA LA boys come to Boston to rekindle the cross-conference rivalry, look out! We all know how heated these games can get, and with the Celts missing their opportunity to make it Lakers/Celtics Part Duex in last year’s finals, you know they are going to come out swinging. If there is a ticket to have this upcoming season, this just might be the one. These teams just can’t help but feed off each other. Even the regular season games seem to blow the roof off the Garden. It is going to be something to behold.
Not satisfied? Well, there are plenty of other match ups that will wet your basketball whistle. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. It’s been a long wait, but when the season kicks off in October, we should be in for one hell of a ride!
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