After spending the best summer break, the reigning champions, Boston Celtics, will wear their uniforms again to prepare for their training camp and title defense. Before the intense NBA action begins, the team will engage in preparation for the warm-up games like every year. That’s the only way to get a glimpse of where the teams stand before the real fierce competition. But when will the Cs hit the court during pre-season and where will it be? Let’s dig in for more details about the Celtics’ preseason fixtures.

The Celtics will punch their tickets to Abu Dhabi for the first two games against the Denver Nuggets. Till now, the Cs have had a better regular season success rate of 60 wins over the Nuggets’ 40. However, the squad knows Nikola Jokic can single-handedly cause trouble for the Jays like he did last season by snatching both wins.

To double the trouble in the preseason, they will face each other twice! Fans can witness their first clash on Friday, October 4, at noon (ET) and the second game will take place two days later on Sunday, October 6 at 10 AM (ET). The Etihad Arena will be serving as the venue for both the games.

After the doubleheaders, the Celtics will be back home for their next challengers, the Philadelphia 76ers. The defending champs have a heavy upper hand on the Sixers and facing them at the TD Garden will be a greater advantage. Overall, in the head-to-head regular season record, the Celtics are leading with 270 to Philly’s 197 wins. They recorded their last 3 victories in the previous season, taking advantage of Joel Embiid‘s absence. But this season, they will not only face the Cameroonian on Saturday, October 12 at 8 PM (ET) but also their new signing, NBA veteran, Paul George.

The Celtics will not have sufficient time to rest before they go up against the Toronto Raptors the following day at 7 PM (ET) in their home arena. In their last four regular season meet-ups, the former showcased complete dominance. After snatching all the wins, the record stands at 70-42, in favor of the Philly side. Before ending their preseason journey, they’ll collide the second time on Tuesday, October 15 at Scotiabank Arena, at the same time.

While the Cs will be battling the on-court rivals, there’s turmoil within the franchise. According to reports, the Celtics‘ imminent sale by Wyc Grousbeck is the result of unrest in the family and an uncertain future can certainly create an adverse situation for the players.

Boston Celtics have a father-son dispute to settle after the rise of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown

The Boston Celtics are in a win-now mentality. After their NBA Championship success last season, the franchise is aiming to keep its core roster intact. The majority owner, Wyc Grousbeck, poured in millions of dollars, which by the 2025-2026 season would go over $600 million in salary bills and taxes. While Wyc believes spending more would enhance the team’s competitiveness, Irving Grousbeck, his father and a 20% owner, strongly objected to the increasing payroll.

This led to a rift in the Grousbeck family and the majority owners finally came to a decision of putting the team on a sale of 51% interest. The massive rise in payroll was caused by the extensions of Jaylen Brown ($304 million) and Jayson Tatum ($314 million) and could leave the franchise in crippling financial condition in the coming years because of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

While other teams are taking lessons from Mat Ishbia and the Suns who are facing the dire consequences of exceeding the second tax apron, the Celtics failed to recognize the dangers of overspending. So the next season will be another opportunity for the franchise to re-reap the benefits of its talent-filled roster as sooner or later the winning squad will be disbanded under financial pressure.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.