Will the victory over the Jazz become a trend? Not so fast...


The Boston Celtics collected their first win of the season Wednesday night at home against the Utah Jazz. It was Brad Stevens' first NBA victory, which means five games into the season the Celtics now sit at 1-4.

The win sparked a little bit of a debate between Celtics Life writers here, many of whom predict the Celtics as a 30 win team or better. I just can't see it.

One of the reasons? The brutal early schedule for this Rondo-less squad. So lets peak at what the next couple of weeks hold for Coach Stevens and the Celts starting on Friday:

11/8 @ Orlando
11/9 @ Miami
11/11 vs. Orlando
11/13 vs. Charlotte
11/15 vs. Portland
11/16 @ Minnesota
11/19 @ Houston
11/20 @ San Antonio
11/22 vs. Indiana

What a tough stretch… yikes! The Celtics are coming out of this nine game stretch with two wins (a split with the Magic and a home win against the Bobcats). Note that the Magic just beat the Clippers and the Blazers are not nearly as bad as you think. Other than that, Boston will be facing top competition almost every game, some on the tail end of back-to-backs.

I just don't see where the wins will come. If I am right about this, after the Pacers game the Celtics will be 3-11 AND play nine of their next 11 games against 2013 playoff teams!

Things are going to get far worse than 1-4 before they get better people, just come to accept it. I am on the record for a 24-58 season this year and feel pretty good about it. Remember, there will be no rush to get Rajon Rondo back onto the floor. I'm not sure why this mid-December idea is getting so much attention, wishful thinking I suppose. I see Rondo returning closer to the All-Star break than December.

Now keep in mind that some of the team's best players will be considered attractive trade chips to contending teams once February rolls around. A combination of Brandon Bass, Courtney Lee, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace and maybe even Jeff Green could be shipped away.

It's going to be a long season in Boston, but if they are as bad as I think they are, things have a higher chance to turn. The last place you want to be in this league is a team with wins in the 30s.

Follow Julian @BleedGreenBlogs