Why Celtics are better equipped to repeat than previous five champs

Why Celtics are better equipped to repeat than previous five champs originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Celtics hope to become the first repeat champions since the 2017-18 Warriors, and they’ve got no shortage of recent examples to examine in the hopes of avoiding what can go wrong.

Only one other time in NBA history (from 1975-80) has there been six straight unique champions, and the C’s just extended that run last season, following the Nuggets, Warriors, Lakers, Bucks, and Raptors.

So what can we learn from the five teams that failed to repeat? Quite a bit, actually.

The Raptors are easy. They were a Kawhi Leonard one-off, and when he left for the Clippers in the summer of 2019, he took Toronto’s title-defending hopes with him. The Raptors gambled brilliantly on one year of Leonard, and it paid off with the ultimate prize. It bears little relevance to the Celtics, whose stars are well-established and not going anywhere.

Then there are the Warriors and Lakers. You can lump them together, because they suffered the same issue: age.

LeBron James turns 40 this December, and even though he has maintained an MVP level of play far longer than anyone in history – he’s the NBA’s Tom Brady at this point – there comes a time where carrying a franchise is too much, especially considering all the years he spent as Cleveland’s 1, 1-A, and 1-B. Since winning his fourth and presumably final title, James has seen his Lakers miss the playoffs once, get bounced in the first round twice, and make one fluky run to the conference finals. He has missed 90 games over the last four seasons and the Lakers have lacked the supporting cast to bolster him.

The Warriors aged as a team, with the core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green reaching their mid-30s together. It felt that way at the time, and it’s obvious now – beating the Celtics in ’22 represented their last stand.

So how about the Bucks and Nuggets? Here’s where things get interesting.

The Nuggets had an easy postseason path two years ago, beating three play-in teams and the overrated Suns. That’s a cautionary tale, I suppose, considering the starless path…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/why-celtics-better-equipped-repeat-180608646.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-09-27 18:06:08

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