From There to Here

The Celtics put out their 2008-2009 schedule yesterday, along with the rest of the NBA. It took a few more days this year, thanks to the whole Seattle-Oklahoma City mess, but it’s done. And the Celtics have some pretty awesome games, with two at home against Orlando, Detroit and Cleveland (plus a third home game in the preseason at Providence) this year, the Lakers on Christmas Day in Los Angeles, two more road games in Detroit and what could amount to a fun postseason.

The games I definitely need to go to:
Oct. 28, Cavaliers (Opening Night, Banner 17, Rings, LeBron)
Nov. 20, Pistons (huge rivalry)
Dec. 1, Magic (brother Bob’s favorite team and a beast in the east)
Dec. 5, Trailblazers (Greg Oden’s first visit)
Dec. 12, Hornets (Hi James Posey, here’s your ring)
Dec. 15, Jazz (good west coast team)
Jan. 7, Rockets (this is going to be a sick game with Yao, TMac and Artest)
Jan. 19, Suns (last chance to see Shaq-Fu?)
Jan. 25, Mavs (simply because I hope Mark Cuban is there)
Feb. 5, Lakers (uh, yeah)
Feb. 8, Spurs (never seen Duncan play)
Mar. 1, Pistons (again, rivalry)
Mar. 6, Cavs (LeBron)
Mar. 8, Magic (see above)
Mar. 29, OKC (first appearance ever in TD Banknorth)
Apr. 15, Wizards (last game of the season)

I’m sure I’ll go to these and many more, but the schedule looks awesome, and I’m pretty excited about the NBA Season starting up in two and a half months. The Celtics have a great chance to repeat as no one in the east has really improved that much. The Pistons will come back with Billups/Stuckey for one more year before Rodney’s able to take over, and the Magic have made some improvements, but I don’t know if Courtney Lee from W. Kentucky is enough to put them over. LeBron needs, well, anything other than himself… and its Wally and Delonte still walking through that door. The Hawks have young talent, but it hurts losing Childress, who was a good role player. Raptors are still a year or two away, and the Wizards need to prove their more than just Agent Zero and UConn standout Caron Butler.

I’m calling it right now for the Celtics. 60-22 record, first seed in the east, narrowly edging the Pistons, who win anywhere from 55-59 games and take the second seed.