Boston beat New York by 29 on October 22, 1966, and by 23 on October 22, 2024, and neither of those seasons ended with a banner. Tomorrow the teams meet with both at 0-1, and the Celtics roster no longer looks like any Boston team before it.
The calendar likes Boston against New York, but the calendar has been wrong before.
On October 22, 1966, the Celtics won 126-97 at New York. It was Bill Russell's first season as player-coach, which also made him the first African American head coach in U.S. professional sports. That season is also the gap in the record: the eight straight titles ran from 1959 to 1966, and the next two came in 1968 and 1969. On October 22, 2024, Boston beat the Knicks 132-109 at home in the season after the 18th championship, and the 19th is still what this team is chasing. Both October routes ended in a season without a title. One big margin in October predicts very little.
Both teams come in 0-1, so last season is still the better guide.
Boston lost 113-121 at Detroit even though Paul George scored 38. New York also lost its opener, and MassLive's Matt Vautour wrote that Jaylen Brown's debut for Philadelphia helped spoil the Knicks' night. Last season the Celtics went 56-26 with a net rating of 8.3. The Knicks went 53-29 with a net rating of 6.4 and a 118.7 offensive rating, and Jalen Brunson averaged 26.0 points. Over 82 games, a gap of about two points of net rating means something real. In a single game it can easily disappear.
Trading Brown is what separates this October from every earlier one.
Boston drafted Brown in 2016 and Jayson Tatum in 2017. The two reached the 2022 Finals and won the 2024 title. After Philadelphia came back from a 3-1 series deficit to end last season, Boston traded Brown to the 76ers for George, who is 36, plus two first-round and two second-round picks. The five that played best last season was Brown, Derrick White, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser: +17.9 over 200 minutes. Four of those five are still here. CelticsBlog's Ryan Paice wrote that a lineup with both Hauser and Queta makes an early case for starting. Still, the +17.9 came with Brown in the lineup. It doesn't show what those four will do with someone else in his spot.
Russell's 1966 team is the more useful precedent, more than either final score.
The 1966-67 Celtics were adjusting to a new role for their central figure and fell short that spring. They won back-to-back titles once the arrangement settled. This roster is also adjusting, around Tatum and George, and Devin Carter is out with an illness until an estimated November 8 return. The franchise's history says a change like this can work in the end. It doesn't say the first week will look good.
When do the Celtics play the Knicks this season?
Boston hosts New York on October 23, 2026, and Prime Video has the broadcast. Both teams come in 0-1.
How have the Celtics done against the Knicks on October 22?
They've won both meetings on this date: 126-97 at New York in 1966 and 132-109 at home in 2024.
