One year after the Boston Celtics were scheduled for just one national TV appearance -- a spot they initially got bumped from, but later picked up another -- the Green are set to be featured in seven national TV games during the 2015-16 season, suggesting an uptick in curiosity in coach Brad Stevens and his young squad.
Boston will make five appearances on ESPN -- Dec. 9 vs. Chicago; Jan. 13 vs. Indiana; Feb. 19 vs. Utah; March 16 vs. Oklahoma City; and April 1 vs. Golden State -- and two appearances on TNT -- Nov. 24 vs. Atlanta and Jan. 7 vs. Chicago -- with three additional broadcasts currently scheduled for NBA TV.
Boston remains without a Christmas game -- maybe the league's marquee day with 10 teams in action -- but the increased interest in a team that made a late surge to the postseason last season seems undeniable. Some highlights from Wednesday's schedule release:
• The Opener: The Celtics will host the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 28 at TD Garden. It's not quite a glitzy star-studded attraction like when Boston's Big Three used to host LeBron James on national TV to start the season, but some Celtics fans will joke that it's a good chance for Boston to start 1-0 given the perpetual rebuilding nature of the 76ers.
• Home away from home: After opening with three games in Boston -- including a visit from the San Antonio Spurs on Nov. 1 -- Stevens gets an early trip back to his native Indianapolis. The Celtics visit the Indiana Pacers on Nov. 4, the team's first road game of the season. Only two of Boston's first eight games are away from home.
• The reunion tour: Rajon Rondo comes to town with the Sacramento Kings on Feb. 7 (Super Bowl Sunday matinee), but Boston will see him in Mexico City on Dec. 3. ... Paul Pierce and Doc Rivers visit a week later with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 10. ... Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves come to Boston on Dec. 21. ... Amir Johnson plays the Toronto Raptors, his former team, on Oct. 30 -- Boston's second game of the season.
• Heavy lifting: The Celtics will play 18 back-to-backs next season, an identical number to last season. Eleven of those sets will close on the road. Despite the league limiting the number of four-games-in-five-night stretches, Boston has one such instance from Jan. 12-16 with the first (in New York) and last (in Washington) games on the road. Boston also has a few occurrences of five games in seven nights, including two such grinds in October.
• The best of the rest: The defending champion Golden State Warriors -- David Lee's former squad -- make their lone visit on Dec. 11. ... The Cleveland Cavaliers -- Eastern Conference champs and the team that swept Boston out of the playoffs -- makes their only Boston visit on Dec. 15 (the teams play only three times next year). ... Boston gets eight days off at the All-Star break, then reconvenes for the trade deadline in Utah to start a brief three-game road trip. ... Boston's toughest/longest road stretch of the season: a five-game West Coast trip from March 26-April 3 in which the team will play the Suns, Clippers, Trail Blazers, Warriors and the rival Lakers. ... That's an awfully late visit to the Lakers, but Los Angeles comes to Boston on Dec. 30.
