Celtics 2021 Schedule: Top Games, Updated Championship Odds and Predictions

The Boston Celtics have had an uneven start to the 2020-21 campaign.

As expected, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have commanded the court, with both getting selected to the All-Star Game.

Kemba Walker's arrival after missing the start of the season with a knee injury has been anticlimactic, with the four-time All-Star averaging just 17.3 points, his lowest since his rookie year, through 16 games.

Offseason additions Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague haven't quite hit their stride, and coupled with the limited performance from Walker, it's clear the Celtics are missing Gordon Hayward, who is shining in Charlotte with a career-best 21.9 points per game.

At 15-16, the Celtics have some work to do in the second half, which runs from March 11 through May 16. Then, there will be a play-in tournament in mid-May before the playoffs begin May 22. The NBA Finals are slated to run through July 22. 

Here's what the Celtics will have to face in order to get there. 

2020-21 Celtics Schedule Details

Second-Half Opener: Celtics at Brooklyn Nets; Thursday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET

Championship Odds (via FanDuel): 25-1

Second-Half Schedule: NBA.com

Top Matchups

Miami Heat (May 9 and 11)

The Heat are having trouble living up to their success of last term this season and are 14-17. 

While the Celtics will be looking to avenge their conference championship loss to the Heat, they did defeat Miami 107-105 courtesy of a buzzer-beater from rookie Payton Pritchard on Jan. 6. 

Since then, the Heat have continued their downward spiral, but they still have some bright spots in their team.

Bam Adebayo is averaging 19.6 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with 9.5, while Jimmy Butler is posting an average of 19.1 points and a team-best 7.6 assists per game.  

Brooklyn Nets (March 11, April 23)

The Celtics have yet to face the new-look Brooklyn Nets.

Since James Harden came to the East coast in January and formed a big three with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets offense has been virtually unstoppable. But they were no slouches before then, either, as the Harden-less Nets won 123-95 when the teams met on Christmas Day. 

In that game, Irving dropped 37 points to go with 29 from Durant. 

Since welcoming in a third star, however, the Nets have struggled defensively—conceding 149 points in a loss to the Washington Wizards—which should allow the Celtics to reach some sort of ceiling in the matchup. 

If the Celtics hope to make it deep into the postseason, it's highly likely they'll have to counter Brooklyn at some point down the line, so another regular-season matchup will be a litmus test to determine where this group is at and just how far it needs to go. 

Season Forecast

Tatum has returned to the team from COVID-19 protocols in full swing, and Walker has shown flashes of what he is capable of following injury. 

A year on from the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston is in the upper levels of a tough conference that boasts the Milwaukee Bucks, Nets and Philadelphia 76ers at the top.

Since the Brooklyn Nets upgraded their star duo of Durant and Irving into a Big Three with the arrival of Harden, they've become even more of a problem in the East. 

To compete deep into the postseason would mean having to take all of these opponents down, and while Boston is a good team, it would need all of its pieces to click at the right time to get past these superstar-loaded teams. 

It feels like the Celtics are one piece away from a championship—the only problem is that all of the ideal additions are players who make up the top squads on the other side of the court.

That said, if Tatum and Brown are able to keep it up long enough for Walker to get comfortable again, these Celtics could make a return trip to the Conference Finals in 2021. 

Final Record Prediction: 39-33

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