Inside The Celtics

How Much of a Rest Advantage Do the Celtics Have This Season?

See how much a rest advantage or disadvantage the Celtics have compared to the rest of the NBA.

Bobby Krivitsky

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA's 76th season starts in Boston with an opening night matchup between the Celtics and Sixers. That night, TD Garden will host one of its two tribute games to Bill Russell. In doing so, they will unveil a special Bill Russell tribute 2022-23 City Edition uniform – a project the league and team had been collaborating on with the 11-time NBA champion. Boston will wear those jerseys 12 times this season.

The rest of the Celtics' schedule for the coming campaign includes a grueling six-game road trip that starts on the East Coast against the Nets and ends with three tilts on the West Coast in four days, taking on the Warriors, Clippers, and Lakers.

There's also a season-long homestand from mid through late December, headlined by Boston welcoming Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to TD Garden on Christmas.

There are a lot of notable takeaways about the Celtics' schedule, including how significant of a rest advantage or disadvantage they'll have throughout the season.

As illustrated by Ed Kupfer, Boston has the fifth-fewest matchups with more rest than its opponent.

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An 82-game season is grueling enough; this reinforces the need for Ime Udoka to pace his team through the campaign. The structure of the Celtics' schedule adds to the importance of bolstering the second unit with the additions of Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari.

Bringing those two on board without losing any of the mainstays from Boston's playoff rotation makes it easier to manage minutes throughout a game and the season.

For instance, Al Horford playing on both ends of a back-to-back will be a rarity and may not happen at all. Having a healthier version of Robert Williams in the playoffs is vital to the Celtics' chances of capturing the Larry O'Brien Trophy. Given Marcus Smart's willingness to sacrifice his body on a nightly basis, having Brogdon, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard behind him makes it more likely the reigning Defensive Player of the Year can play at his best in the postseason.

And Jayson Tatum's gone from an Eastern Conference Finals run in the bubble to a truncated offseason, winning a gold medal with Team USA on the heels of that campaign, then led Boston to the NBA Finals. He logged nearly 36 minutes per game last regular season and averaged the most playoff minutes (41) of any player who advanced past the first round, per NBA.com.

Fortunately, as Kupfer points out in the second chart, while the Celtics typically won't have more rest than their opponent, their competition won't often come into a contest fresher than Boston. It will only happen 18/82 (21 percent) times. The Suns, who have the least number of games against teams with more rest, have 12 matchups where that's the case.

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While accounting for the entire league, in the second chart below, Kupfer also notes the Celtics have the fifth-most games where they and their competitors are on equal rest.

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As the NBA highlighted, they've also taken measures to help deal with the grueling nature of an 82-game schedule that allows for usually just a day in between matchups and constant travel.

The NBA estimates they've reduced travel to 41,000 miles per team, a record low in the era of 30 franchises playing an 82-game schedule. They also believe teams will travel 50,000 miles less than last season. Additionally, they've cut down on how often road teams have to travel between matchups by 66 percent.

Further Reading

Here's What Stands Out About the Celtics' Schedule

Celtics Hosting Two Bill Russell Dedicated Tribute Games, Including Opening Night, When They'll Unveil Uniform He Collaborated On

If the Celtics Trade Jaylen Brown, Is This the Right Time, or Should They Wait for Less Risky Return Than Kevin Durant?

[Photos] As Trade Rumors Between Celtics and Nets Persist, Jayson Tatum Working Out with Kevin Durant

Report: Celtics Won't Make Robert Williams Available in Kevin Durant Trade Talks

Jaylen Brown 'all-in on Boston' Provided Celtics Prove the Feeling is Mutual (Report)

Celtics' Juhann Begarin, Yam Madar Will Continue Development Overseas

Celtics Owner Wyc Grousbeck on the Impact of Malcolm Brogdon, Danilo Gallinari Acquisitions: 'We can win this thing'

Published
Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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