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Before the new NBA season tips off tonight, the Boston Celtics will celebrate last season — championship banner No. 18 will get hoisted to the rafters and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will hand each player their championship rings.
Can anyone stop the Celtics from having another ceremony just like this a year from now?
Boston enters the new season as heavy favorites to repeat, they are +325 to win another title at our partner Bet MGM (the Thunder are second at +500). That’s with good reason, the Celtics are a championship team at its peak, one bringing back the top seven players from its rotation (once Kristaps Porzingis returns around Christmas). The Celtics won the East by 14 games a season ago and lost just three games in the playoffs, who is going to stop them this time around?
How many NBA titles do the Celtics have?
The 2023 title was Boston’s 18th, the most in NBA history (they moved one ahead of their rivals, the Lakers, who have 17, and in third place is the Golden State Warriors with 7).
Teams that stop the Celtics back-to-back titles:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City is not only the favorite to come out of the West — meaning it would have a shot in the Finals to knock Boston off — but the Thunder have a roster that could be a matchup challenge for Boston.
Oklahoma City has the MVP-level star that nobody can completely stop in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder also have a number of quality defensive wings to throw at Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, starting with Alex Caruso and Luguentz Dort. They have Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein protecting the paint. Most importantly, they don’t have a weak defender in their starting five and key rotation players — there is not some easy target to pick on.
Boston has the experience factor, but OKC will be a problem for everyone all season long — and they will be a problem for Boston if they meet in the NBA Finals.
Philadelphia 76ers
While this season in Philly may be starting with an ominous health omen, the potential is still there.
If the 76ers can get Joel Embiid and Paul George to April and the start of the playoffs rested and healthy — we’re…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/boston-celtics-preview-2024-25-182648110.html
Author : NBC Sports
Publish date : 2024-10-22 18:26:00
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