In recent years, the schedule gods have shined on the Boston Celtics. Their blessings may have expired ahead of the 2026-27 regular season, though. The C's are scheduled for 16 back-to-backs (also known as when a team plays two days in a row) next season, which is about two more than the league average and three more than their total from last season.
Notably, the Celtics haven't played this many back-to-backs since the 2016-17 campaign when they had 17, so what's changed? How the NBA schedule makers operate isn't completely clear, but it seems as if Boston's years of luck needed to be equaled out. Or, if you're feeling a little more conspiratorial, perhaps the league made things more difficult for the Celtics because they lost some standing
within the Eastern Conference when they traded away star guard Jaylen Brown. Meanwhile, the rival Philadelphia 76ers, who acquired Brown and four-time MVP LeBron James this offseason, saw their 2025-26 back-to-back count of 16 drop to 13 this season.
The entire 2026-27 schedule for the Boston Celtics: pic.twitter.com/nfq1uOrtv3
— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) August 13, 2026
Although the Association may have stacked sections of the Celtics' schedule, it didn't cast them aside. Boston has 27 nationally televised games — two more than it did last season. The NBA still wants to appease the New England market, however, it doesn't appear as eager to spotlight the Celtics as it did in prior years.
Regardless of what went into the schedule, the physical toll of back-to-backs could impact how the Celtics rest their players. Star forward Jayson Tatum is only a few months removed from missing Game 7 of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs due to knee stiffness and Boston could force him to skip playing both legs of every back-to-back.
But, Tatum is coming off one of the longest offseasons he's ever experienced and the recovery process for an Achilles tear has been optimized in the modern sports world. Other Green Teamers might have to worry about the 16 back-to-backs more, as first-year Celtics Paul George and Mitchell Robinson have had their fair share of injury issues.
The former is 36 years old and hasn't participated in over half of a regular season since the 2023-24 campaign. The latter is younger, yet still a 7-footer who's prone to missing time. The increase in back-to-backs — 5 of which occur in November — could hinder George and Robinson's integration into the Celtics' system.
If those Celtics newbies do sit for some back-to-backs, Boston has made an effort to hone its depth with bench players such as center Luka Garza, defensive specialist Jordan Walsh, wing Baylor Scheierman, and others. Plus, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has told the media several times that he enjoys the hard parts of an NBA schedule. He's the right man in charge for a team with a tougher slate than usual.
"I'm actually really excited about it," Mazzulla replied when asked for his thoughts on an upcoming challenging stretch of games in December of 2024. "It's going to be fun. It's going to be great."
Whether it's in December or March, every NBA team must face the grind of an 82-game regular season. It won't be easy for the new-look Celtics and there will likely be growing pains, but there are benefits from being tested early, often, and before the real challenge of an NBA season: the playoffs.
Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on:
Blue Wire: https://tiny.ee/CdKp
iTunes: https://tiny.ee/RK47
YouTube: https://tiny.ee/cOW3
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: What increase in back-to-backs means for 2026-27 Celtics
