Ramp to Camp: Predicting midseason headlines for 2024-25 Celtics

Ramp to Camp: Predicting midseason headlines for 2024-25 Celtics originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

We’ve spent most of our Ramp to Camp series examining the big headlines as the Boston Celtics prepare to open defense of their 2024 title. But what kind of headlines might we see later in the season?

For the 13th installment in our preseason series, we asked our NBC Sports Boston panel to fast forward to 2025 All-Star weekend and predict a big-picture storyline surrounding the Celtics at the midseason mark.

(Check out our full Ramp to Camp series here.)

If you rewind to February 2024, the Celtics sailed into the All-Star break with a 43-12 record after a 50-point blowout win over the Brooklyn Nets. The headline from our podcast during a visit to All-Star weekend in Indianapolis read: “Tatum, Celtics are the talk of the town at All-Star weekend.”

Will the Celtics still be dominating the league conversation in February 2025?

We usually try to steer clear of directly repeating any of our panel predictions, but one of our respondents pretty much nailed our initial choice of headlines. So we’ll just tee him up here:

Are these Celtics even better than the 2024 championship squad? 

I have the 2024-25 C’s finishing with four fewer wins than last season’s team but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re even more dominant on their quest for a repeat. Since I don’t anticipate any juicy trade rumors, I think the talk around the team will mostly be about their chances of winning a second straight title.

When our panel did record predications in this series, we noted how we love the 2008-09 Celtics as a comp for this year’s team. Both teams found immediate chemistry, were relentlessly motivated by winning, and raised banners in their first season together. But what’s often forgotten is just how good that 2008-09 team was while bringing back nearly the entire title core (sans James Posey).

Even if you think the East is better, there’s a real opportunity for the 2024-25 Celtics to hit the ground running based on their chemistry and continuity. While the Knicks are figuring out how to integrate Mikal Bridges, and the 76ers…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ramp-camp-predicting-midseason-headlines-132031378.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-09-18 13:24:20

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.