Celtics 2020-21 Schedule: Top Games, Championship Odds and Record Predictions

A decade removed from the glory days of the Big Three, the 2019-20 Boston Celtics found stability in a tumultuous season behind the trifecta's heirs apparent—a fresh-faced combination of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker.

They forced the Miami Heat to go six games in the Eastern Conference Finals, falling short of their first Finals appearance since Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce took them there in 2010. 

Each member of the modern Big Three posted at least 20 points in every playoff game as the Celtics swept Philadelphia (and former Bostonian Al Horford) to open the playoffs—losing Gordon Hayward to an ankle sprain the process—then took the champion Toronto Raptors all the way through seven games. Eventually, they fell to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

When Walker signed with the Celtics in July 2019, he said he came to Boston because he wants to win, and he came close in his first season. But the Celtics, who were 43-21 before entering the NBA restart bubble in Orlando, Florida, were ultimately unable to take their run all the way. 

Here is a look at what lies ahead for Walker, Tatum, Brown and the rest of the Celtics this year as they attempt to recreate their success.

2020-21 Celtics Schedule Details

Season Opener: Wednesday, Dec. 23 vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Championship Odds: +1600 (via FanDuel)

First-Half Schedule:  NBA.com

Top Matchups

Miami Heat (First Game: Jan. 10)

After losing in the NBA Finals, the Heat will take on the Celtics for the first time since their six-game Eastern Conference Finals showdown on Sunday.

The Celtics got their first glimpse of the damage Goran Dragic could do during the regular season last year, when he led the Heat with 23 points as Boston stole a 109-101 win on the road in January. But in the time between that outing and the six-game Eastern Conference series, the Slovenian has transformed from a bench player into a major star.

Coupled with Tyler Herro, who was an impact player as a rookie in the playoffs, it will be an intriguing matchup when the top teams in the Eastern Conference meet again. 

Toronto Raptors (First Game: Jan. 4)

The Raptors and their power-packed roster of Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are always a test for Boston, and that was highlighted in the postseason, when the Celtics took the then-NBA champions to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. 

Boston's neighbors to the North always provide a competitive matchup—neither team has swept the regular-season series since the 2009-10 campaign, when the Celtics won all four games for the second year in a row. 

Season Forecast

The team's three free agents this offseason were household names in Hayward and Enes Kanter, who could exercise player options, and Semi Ojeleye, who had a fourth-year option. The writing was on the wall for Hayward, who declined his option, to depart (eventually landing with the Charlotte Hornets), and Kanter headed to Portland.

Headlining the returners, which includes Ojeleye, is Tatum, who emerged in 2019-20 as a viable franchise player for the Celtics, putting his first All-Star and All-NBA nods under his belt in his third season in the league. 

"I believe in this group," he said, per Kyle Hightower of the Associated Press. "I think we were capable. We had more than enough to get the job done. We just let a couple slip away. A lot of guys got so much better this year and throughout the season, so much better from last season. So just to see guys continue to grow and get better, it’s a lot of fun. It was fun this year."

With a consistent roster heading into this season—a rarity among top teams around the league—the Celtics will have a chance to replicate or surpass their 2019-20 season. 

Record Prediction: 49-21

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