Before the new NBA season begins tonight, the Boston Celtics will celebrate the last season – championship banner #18 will be raised to the rooftops and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will present each player with their championship rings.
Can anyone stop the Celtics from having another ceremony right this 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 the best seven players from its rotation (after 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 will stop them this time?
How many NBA titles do the Celtics have?
The 2023 title was Boston’s 18th, the biggest in NBA history (they moved one ahead of their rivals, the Lakers, who have 17, and in third place are the Golden State Warriors with 7).
Teams that stop the Celtics back-to-back titles:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Not only is Oklahoma City the favorite to come out of the West — meaning it would have a shot in the Finals to knock off Boston — but the Thunder have a roster that could be a matchup challenge for Boston.
Oklahoma City has the MVP-level star that no one can quite stop in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The Thunder also have some quality defensive wings to throw to 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 – not an easy target to pick.
Boston has the experience factor, but OKC will be a problem for everyone all season long — and they’ll be a problem for Boston if they meet in the NBA Finals.
Philadelphia 76ers
During this season in Philly may start with an ominous health prognosisthe 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 going to assume Tyrese Maxey will be fine — then this team has the best, most balanced front three in the league. They are surrounded by solid role players including Caleb Martin, Kelly Oubre Jr., Eric Gordon, Andre Drummond and more.
On paper, the 76ers can compete with anyone. Whether they can live up to that potential is another question, but they are a threat to the Celtics in the East.
New York Knicks
This is a roster not only built to push Boston for the top seed in the East — the Knicks were the No. 2 seed a year ago and will be closer to Boston than 14 games this time — but they’re also built to be. playoff game problem for the Celtics.
The Knicks have quality defensive wings in OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart who can match up with Tatum and Brown. Having Karl-Anthony Towns to space the floor in the five-and-five-out offense will draw Kristaps Porzingis out of the paint as a rim-protecting defender. The Knicks will be as gritty and physical as any Tom Thibodeau team.
New York has questions to answer (starting with depth concerns), but it’s a legitimate contender to Boston.
Boston Celtics
The reality is that the team most likely to keep the Celtics from another title is the Celtics themselves.
That would most likely come from injuries beyond their control – Kristaps Porzingis is already out until around Christmasrecovering from foot/ankle surgery. Like any team, injuries to a key player or two entering the postseason could make Boston look deadly.
While unlikely with this group, Boston could have a championship malaise during the regular season, leading to bad habits. It’s not Joe Mazzulla’s intensity that will prevent this from happening (although it helps), but USA Basketball’s timing issues this summer have lit a fire under Brown and Tatum that few other championship teams have had as motivation. However, the idea of the Celtics losing focus isn’t completely off the table, it’s happened to great teams and great players before.
I picked Boston to repeat as championsbut the road this season will be much rougher than a year ago — they won’t win the East by 14 games and will go through the postseason with three losses. This time, the Celtics will be challenged and will have to prove that they are up to it.
