Can the Boston Celtics March Onto Back-to-Back Championships?
The 2024-25 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season tips off on October 22, and the question on every basketball fan’s lips is whether or not the Boston Celtics can become the first team since the Golden State Warriors in 2019 to win back-to-back NBA Championships. Only 13 teams have won at least two NBA Championships in a row, including the Boston Celtics, who famously won eight consecutive titles between 1959 and 1966.
Nobody could lay a glove on the Boston Celtics last season. They finished the regular season with a 64-18 record, which is incredible when you think the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Denver Nuggets were the next-best teams with 57-25 records. The Celtics form continued into the playoffs where they brushed aside the Miami Heat (4-1), Cleveland Cavaliers (4-1), and the Indiana Pacers (4-0) before making like work of the Dallas Mavericks (4-0) in the NBA Finals.
The top Oregon online sports betting apps have the Boston Celtics as the clear favorites to become NBA champions again, and it isn’t easy to make a case against them. Head coach Joe Mazzulla has a wealth of talent at his disposal, and he has the team purring like a well-oiled machine. It is a deadly combination when elite-level players are playing well and being coached by someone who knows how to get the best out of them.
Last year, under Mazzulla’s expert guidance, the Celtics became NBA champions for the 18th time in their history. They finally put some daylight between themselves and the Los Angeles Lakers, who had been tied for 17 titles each.
The Best and Most Balanced Roster in the NBA
The Boston Celtics won an incredible 80 games last season, including the playoffs, the second-most in the franchise’s storied history. Aside from 7-foot 2-inch center Kristaps Porzingis missing 25 games through injury, only six other teams had a four-man lineup that logged more total minutes than Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, and Derrick White.
Having a consistent starting lineup helped the Celtics throughout the season. Whether or not the team will enjoy a lack of injuries again throughout 2024 and 2025 remains to be seen, but the Celtics also have some talented youngsters waiting in the wings, chomping at the bit to get on the court.
Three Celtics players finished the regular season averaging more than 20 points per game. Porzingis scraped in with 20.1 points per game over the 57 appearances he made, but Brown (23.0) and Tatum (26.9) were well into the 20s.
The Celtics have an incredible talent in Tatum, and it is easy to see why they selected him third overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. Since making his Celtics debut in 2017, Tatum’s numbers have been on an upward trajectory, culminating in a career-best 30.1 points per game during the 2022-23 campaign. Those numbers fell slightly last year, but he still averaged 23.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. Tatum shone in the playoffs and was a key team member. From 19 games, he averaged 25.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks. No wonder Tatum was selected as an NBA All-Star for the fifth straight year.
Like Tatum, Brown seems to be getting better with every passing season. Brown was instrumental in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in the five games, earning him the Finals Most Valuable Player (MBP) award.
A Lack of Transactions for the Celtics
The Celtics backroom staff have been very quiet in the recruitment department, but how do you improve on almost perfection? They resigned Xavier Tillman and Luke Kornet from free agency and drafted two up-and-coming youngsters.
Shooting guard Baylor Scheierman was drafted as the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft, with Anton Watson going off the 54th overall pick. Neither will likely feature heavily this coming season, but they are ones to watch in the coming years.
Who Is Most Likely to Stop the Celtics?
As mentioned earlier in this article, the Celtics won 64 of their 82 regular season games last year and were worthy NBA champions. While it is unlikely the Celtics will win 60 or more games this season, one would imagine they will enjoy wins into the high 50s, making them formidable opponents.
According to bookmakers, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the second favorite to become NBA Finals champions for the first time in more than a decade. The Thunder were excellent during the 2023-24 regular season and sensational in the first round of the playoffs, beating the New Orleans Pelicans 4-0. However, the Dallas Mavericks halted their charge in the Conference Semifinals, running out 4-2 victors.
The Philadelphia 76ers last appeared in the NBA Finals in 2000-01, when they lost a disappointing 4-1 to the Los Angeles Lakers. Since then, they have failed to progress further than the Conference Semifinals. After finishing with a 47-35 regular season record in 2023-24, confidence is high in Philadelphia.
Outside those two teams, there are the Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks. Most of these teams have acquired new talent for their rosters and should be much improved for the upcoming season.
Regardless of who becomes the 2024-25 NBA champions, it looks like basketball fans are in for one hell of a treat this season, while Celtics supporters will almost certainly see their beloved white and green-clad superstars break through the 4,100 win barrier before the campaign ends. The Celtics have the most balanced roster in the NBA and are brimming with confidence. Don’t underestimate the role confidence plays in a team’s success. Confident players make passes, plays, and shots they would not ordinarily take, ultimately leading to more points.
