So, we’ve had a few weeks since the NBA schedule was released, but have the Celtics got used to the idea of the punishing list of games ahead. Not only do they have an tough 66 games in 124 days, but this also involves 15 back to backs, one 6-games-in-8-days voyage and a back to back to back for good measure. This is all for a team who, at their core, are no longer young men.

So will the Celtics manage to pull of their eighteenth title in the history of the franchise? Sadly, Jeff Green was diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm so will be out of the whole season. Luckily for him the diagnosis happened just one week after he signed a new year’s contract for $9 million. So, now he will have plenty of money to spend on his party poker games or DVD rentals.

Paul Pierce, the captain of this merry band, may have an impressive point scoring record for the team, but he currently has a bruised heel bone. This injury means he will miss the pre-season games and it is hanging in the balance whether he will make the season’s opening game against the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Coach Doc Rivers has said that he is not concerned about Pierce’s health in the long term, but is definitely worried that he won’t be able to make the three opening games. Of course, he may join those games, but he won’t have had the warm up that everyone else has.

Kevin Garnett, one of the Big Three, is now getting on at 35-years-old, and will have his minutes of play rationed so he doesn’t wear himself out. All in all, the team have to play their health card cautiously. That shouldn’t be a problem, one little bit.

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