Will Celtics repeat as champs? Simulating the 2024-25 NBA season

Will Celtics repeat as champs? Simulating the 2024-25 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Celtics cruised to their 18th NBA title with a historic regular season and a dominant playoff run. Our partners at Strat-O-Matic predicted it all.

Strat-O-Matic’s simulation for the 2023-24 season nailed the Celtics’ 64-28 record and correctly picked Boston to win the championship. So with the 2024-25 schedule being released on Wednesday, we reached out to see what we should expect on the Celtics’ quest for a repeat.

Will their “run it back” approach result in their second straight championship, or will Banner 19 have to wait? Below are Strat-O-Matic’s predictions for the regular-season standings, the full postseason bracket, and more.

Another dominant regular season

The reigning champs pick up where they left off and produce another 60+ win season.

Strat-O-Matic has the C’s posting a 61-21 record in the 2024-25 campaign to earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the top seed throughout the NBA playoffs. After dropping the season opener vs. the New York Knicks, they rip off 14 wins over their next 15 games to reassert their dominance.

The Celtics begin their 2024 Emirates NBA Cup (formerly known as the In-Season Tournament) run with wins over all four of their East Group C opponents: the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, and Chicago Bulls. They defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the quarterfinal but fall to the Knicks in the semifinals.

Boston takes down Philly again in their Christmas Day showdown and ends up sweeping the season series against its East rival. Its NBA Finals rematches vs. the Dallas Mavericks don’t go as well, however, as the Mavs win both of those showdowns.

The simulated Celtics season is highlighted by a 15-game win streak from mid-February through mid-March. They also enter the postseason red-hot with nine wins over their final 10 games.

No surprises in the East

Strat-O-Matic doesn’t foresee any shocking developments in the Eastern Conference. The usual suspects top the final standings.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-repeat-champs-simulating-2024-202709585.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-08-15 20:27:09

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