Why Opening Night Matters for the Celtics

On October 23rd, the Celtics will begin their odyssey for a repeat NBA Championship. Opening Night at TD Garden will be special for the fans, and the players, too, undoubtedly. Welcoming back the team as champions – deserved champions – is something uniquely satisfying in sports, and the Boston faithful are sure to be raucous.

As most are aware, it’s the Knicks coming to Beantown to kick off the 2024/25 NBA season. It’s an interesting match-up – perhaps the most intriguing across the first week of the new season – as it pits the champions against the team that many now believe will be their biggest challengers in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics are clear favorites in Championship betting

The Celtics are hot favorites to retain the NBA Championship. The latest NBA odds have them somewhere around +300 to win it all again. For comparison, they were somewhere around +500 at the start of last season. Most teams considered rivals to the Celtics are somewhere around +800 to +1000, and yes, that includes New York. Regardless, there is clear daylight between the Celtics and the chasing pack.

As for New York, the front office made a big move with the capture of Karl-Anthony Towns. The self-proclaimed “best big-man shooter of all time” instantly improves the Knicks. Whether it is enough to make them championship material is another matter. Yet, the trade got tongues wagging, and it even shaved a point or so off the Knicks’ championship odds. There is confidence in the air, local media, and everything else swirling around Tom Thibodeau’s team, and that can count for a lot.

Psychologically speaking, it’s arguable that this Opening Night game is a big one for the Celtics and Knicks. Of course, all is not lost if a rusty Celtics team somehow manages to lose in front of their fans – plenty of teams have lost opening games and went on to secure the NBA Championship. But it feels like a tone-setter, a chance to put down a marker, and, if we are truthful, a chance to take the win out of the Knicks’ sails.

Win last season set the tone for the Celtics

You can look back to last season and feel that it was comparable. The Celtics went to MSG for their opening game. Kristaps Porzingis stole the show against his former team. But while the final score was close, there was a sense that the Celtics were ready – hungry – while the Knicks looked a little shaky, especially at the start of the game.

Something similar, especially coming quickly out of the blocks, would suit well on October 23rd. Players can have preseason rust, sure, so nobody expects a trouncing against a very good Knicks team, but making a statement early on will breed confidence. Moreover, showing the NBA that TD Garden remains a place to fear should also be part of the Celtics’ business plan for the new season. It took until January last season for the team to lose at home last term; something similar would be welcomed in the new season.

It's not clear whether it will be the Knicks that the Celtics must vanquish to make it to the NBA Finals again. Perhaps the Sixers or Bucks will be breathing down our necks across the regular season and into the Playoffs. But the Knicks are the team that everyone is talking about today after that Towns trade. Putting a stop to that psychological momentum they have is good business for the Celtics. It’s Opening Night, and it’s a long, long road to June. But this should matter to the Celtics.