The Boston Celtics will head into the 2024-25 season looking to defend their NBA championship. Joe Mazzulla’s team dominated both the regular season and the playoffs, proving themselves to be the best team on the planet. Nevertheless, a new season means every roster has a blank slate. Therefore, the Celtics must prove themselves all over again.
Recently, Tim Bontemps of ESPN polled 18 NBA executives, coaches and scouts to gain insight into what people around the league expect from the upcoming campaign. Of course, one of those questions was which two teams people were expecting to see in the NBA Finals next season.
Boston was voted as the favorite to come out of the East, receiving 13 of the 18 votes. Out West, the Celtics 2024 NBA Finals opponent, the Dallas Mavericks, received 2 of the 18 votes. Instead, people around the NBA are expecting the Oklahoma City Thunder to make a push for the NBA Finals, setting up what would be an enthralling seven-game series.
Nevertheless, the Thunder would be in a similar situation as the Mavericks found themselves last season. Boston would have vastly more postseason experience, which is vital to stringing together high-level performances at such a late stage in the playoffs. Therefore, if the Celtics do face the Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals, Mazzulla’s team should have an advantage, although that series would be far from an easy win.
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Publish date : 2024-08-29 02:03:00
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