Four biggest obstacles to Celtics winning 2024 NBA Finals

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Four biggest obstacles to Celtics winning 2024 NBA Finals originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics just wrapped up one of their best regular seasons in team history, which is pretty impressive considering the success this franchise has enjoyed since the 1940s.

The Celtics finished with an NBA-best 64-18 record, seven wins ahead of the next-best team and 14 wins better than the second-place team in the Eastern Conference. Boston set team records for offensive rating, net rating, scoring margin, 3-point shots made and fewest turnovers.

Even though the Celtics are the favorites to win the NBA Finals and claim a record 18th championship, there are plenty of potential obstacles that could derail the team’s postseason journey.

Here’s an in-depth look at four of the most notable.

Injuries

This one is obvious, right?

The Celtics have been fairly lucky in regards to injuries this season. Jayson Tatum played in 74 of 82 games. Just seven of the league’s top 20 scorers played more games than Tatum. Derrick White played in 73, Jaylen Brown in 70, Jrue Holiday in 69 and Al Horford in 65. Kristaps Porzingis was limited to 57 games but he avoided any major injuries and is ready to go for the playoffs.

Injuries are always a factor in the playoffs to some degree, though, and Game 7 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals is a great example. Tatum sprained his ankle 26 seconds into the game and it had a hugely negative impact for the Celtics in their loss to the Heat.

It’s impossible to predict injuries, but if they do occur, other players need to be able to step up.

3-point shooting goes cold

The Celtics are one of the most prolific 3-point shooting teams in league history.

They hit 1,351 3-point shots this season — 12 fewer than the league record set by the Golden State Warriors a year ago. Boston ranked second in 3-point shooting at 38.8 percent, trailing only the Oklahoma City Thunder (38.9 percent).

The Celtics had a 54-9 record this season when hitting 15 or more 3-pointers in a game, per Stathead. The C’s were 10-9 in the 19 games during which they made 14 or fewer 3-pointers. Seven of those nine losses when the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/four-biggest-obstacles-celtics-winning-211908992.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-04-15 21:19:08

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