The Celtics seem well-positioned to repeat as NBA champions in 2024/25.
After posting a league-best 64-18 regular season record, Boston blitzed the competition in the playoffs, going 16-3 en route to the franchise’s record 18th championship.
The reigning champs have retained all of their top rotation pieces, extending Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser this summer. In fact, 12 of Boston’s top 13 players from its 2023/24 vintage are back on this year’s roster. The only exception? Free agent forward Oshae Brissett has yet to sign anywhere, but has alluded to a possible Celtics return.
With a focus on vanquishing Boston, several other Eastern Conference contenders retooled significantly during the offseason.
The Sixers are of course the headliners of the offseason, having almost completely reconfigured their roster around incumbent All-Stars Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Although Paul George was the big addition on a four-year, $211.6MM deal, Philadelphia president Daryl Morey also made some savvy role player signings, including forward Caleb Martin. But both Embiid and George have had some uniquely underwhelming postseason performances in recent years, and both are on the wrong side of 30 with growing injury histories. Can they keep it together in the playoffs when it matters most?
Last year’s No. 2 seed, the Knicks, saw their playoff run hampered by escalating injuries to much of their rotation. Although New York lost starting center Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder in free agency, the team made its own splash with a blockbuster trade for former All-Defensive swingman Mikal Bridges, acquiring him from the Nets.
Despite frequent trade rumors, the biggest offseason change for Cavaliers happened on their bench. Cleveland president Koby Altman jettisoned now-former head coach J.B. Bickerstaff after two consecutive playoff seasons as a top-four seed, replacing him with former Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson. The team is hoping for internal development from its four stars and more cohesion out of its other pieces.
As the No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs, the Bucks may have been upset by an Eastern Conference Finals-bound Pacers squad in the first round. But Milwaukee has a key asset Indiana does not: All-NBA power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, still very much in his prime. After trading to acquire All-Star point guard Damian Lillard late in the 2023 offseason, Milwaukee struggled to build out its depth around a pricey top six and underwent a mid-season coaching change. This year, however, the Bucks added several ring-chasing veterans on below-market deals. Will it be enough to get them deep into the playoffs again?
Indiana, to its credit, played the hand it was dealt, riding some injury luck to its first East Finals appearance in a decade. After an underwhelming Olympics run, wherein he did not play in Team USA’s gold medal game, could All-NBA point guard Tyrese Haliburton be due for a leap? Could newly re-signed forward Pascal Siakam develop more chemistry with the team’s longer-tenured stars after his first full offseason in Indiana?
We want to know what you think. Can anyone among the aforementioned crop best Boston and emerge out of the East? Will a spoiler with present talent and the assets to make a trade — perhaps the Magic or Heat — make a surprise run? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.
Celtics are good but they are not nearly some dominate all time team they are made out to be. That path to a title was pretty weak. There will be a couple of other superteams next season after a down year
Wait. During the playoffs and after they won, there was a huge amount of people who said they got lucky, had an easy run, were not real champions and needed an asterisk next to their ring.
Now they are overrated?
BTW who are those superteams?
Mavericks, OKC, Pacers and maybe the Knicks if they can find an actual center who can play more than 20 games. That is about all the competition that Boston will have. Philly is overrated again, like every year. Nuggets got worse, Lakers are a joke, Suns have done nothing, Bucks are about to fall apart and Oh yeah the Warriors who if they ever got lucky enough to play Boston, something tells me Tatum and Brown will have answers for Steve Kerr.
Mavs, OKC are the only real competition if every stays healthy. Pacers are an outside chance bc they play real hard and play a unique system that challenges the Celtics.
Boston won the whole thing without Porzingis.
“there was a huge amount of people who said they got lucky, had an easy run, were not real champions and needed an asterisk next to their ring.”
Yeah those are silly haters, you arent supposed to bring the receipts, they themselves dont believe in it, they’re just mad. Boston won the most games last year, they were the best team because they had the strongest and deepest overall roster that could overcome both missing Kristaps entirely and Tatum trying his best to choke the Finals away.
Im a Warriors fan, trust me I know all about silly haters talking about “asterisk” seasons – lol
They took out the West champ in 5 gms. Without KP. If that’s not dominant. Then you don’t know ball. East is much better this year. So it won’t be easy. IMO they are not winning without KP. I see Tatum having a big year. After the Olympics benching. Knicks, Sixers will be formidable.
When you are the champs every team in the NBA comes after you extra hard. Everyone wants to beat the champs. Celtics will not have a easy road this year at all. Even the lousy teams will give it their extra to defeat them.
Arc I was going to say something similar. It is extremely tough to repeat.
Paying that price again is almost impossible to ask. The Grind, the long season, battling through injuries, making it all the way to the finals again. Pretty tough ask.
We see it almost every year except for a few dynasties that are otherworldly.
Look at Denver. I think everyone and their brother conceded a Repeat Performance. Not as easy as it looks.
Good thing is that Boston is young enough they may be able to ride that youth and resiliency towards another two rings I think, but just not in a row.
That’s true arc. But Celts are still a young and new team. Plus Tatum has motivation. I see them repeating. If KP can play. Without KP they can be beat.
I see a lot improvement in eastern teams this year. 76ers, Kicks, pacers, Cavs, magic, and Bucks. 1 injury can take a team like Celtics out of the playoffs. Cletics is still the best team in the east but now the season will be tougher and longer with every team giving a extra push against them. There will be no rest for them this year.
There is no asterisk. That is absurd. But people were calling this a top 10 team of all time, which is also absurd. In the East a fully healthy Knicks would pose a big threat. Miami always gives them trouble when healthy. Philly has a history of choking but PG and Embiid is still PG and Embiid. They won’t get that same weak path to the finals
why is them being a top 10 team all time absurd? genuinely curious
they won 1 championship with that team is why you don’t put labels on the team right away. If somebody said the same about the Nuggets would you say hold on. Of course you would.
The health fairy. You’re talking about a team that’s been the last four standing for the better part of a decade. Haven’t gotten worse and still has room for internal improvement. The Jays aren’t in their prime yet. Like every other team, season pending on health.
This is the truth. Celtics biggest opponent is keeping healthy for the season.
That’s prophetic
Every year there’s injuries. Every team Battles Through it. Not even worth discussing. There’s no “ifs” here.
It’s all about who wins the whole thing. No Asterix no complaints.
The goal for the smart teams is to be deep enough. Celtics were deep enough last year it looks like with the same crew they’ll be deep enough this year.
A serious injury to a star will derail a team’s whole season or playoff run. There’s no battling through that.
Yes I agree you’re right but what I’m saying is there’s no excuses. Next man up. Moral is down, you lose a key guy.., next man up.
That’s why you need to have a good bench if you want to win it all. I think Boston by the way, has a great bench. They’ll win two more. No Asterisk, no excuses.
But you know what, yes, every team “battles through it.” Every team. You can’t say there’s no battling through it LOL.
Even if you lose a star player, what are you going to do, call it a day? No you battle.
If “deep enough” is the standard, the Knicks are right there. At least 2-deep at every position except C (yes, yes, plainly lacking there): PF: Julius, Precious; SF: Anunoby, Hart/Bridges; SG: DiVincenzo, Hart/Bridges, Deuce; PG: Brunson, Payne, Kolek; C: Robinson, Sims.
No, because Boston kept the core of Brown, Tatum, Jrue, Kristaps, White, Horford, Pritchard and Houser together. No other team in the East has a top 8 that can battle that top 8, and top 8’s are who plays the majority of the playing time in the palyoffs.
The Celtics will go to the Finals again unless injuries hit them.
Denver didn’t keep its championship team together.
Celtics won more rings than Lakers.
Now it’s time for LeBron and AD to do something.
For Lakers, the only path to the rings is Trade.
Celtics have won more rings than anybody in any sport, except the Yankees, no?
Montreal Canadiens up there as well.
Yeah, Canadiens were ahead of Yanks and Celtics in early 90’s, but well has gone dry ever since.
Not easy to repeat. Celtics are still growing as a team. KP healthy for playoffs. They are the team to beat. Knicks, Sixers, Bucks, Cavs all have a shot. East is deeper than it’s been in a long time. The eight seed could take them out. If they are looking ahead. This is going to be a great year. Plenty of talented teams.
The Celtics have the best team, Period! Can someone beat them in a 7 game series? Possibly. Injuries can play a role. None of the Celtics haters seemed to even notice that the C’s played nearly the whole playoffs without their 3rd best player. Even beyond the top 8, Tillman is a quality big man, and Kornet is a great complementary player.
Reading your username I’m reminded of Ray williams. He played for the Celtics for a little while was a gritty combo guard that was fun to watch.
Anyway, we’re used to KP being out for periods of time. EVERYONE noticed but it’s commonplace. That’s why you have those other guys like Tillman and Kornet to plug in at time of need.
None of the Boston zealots like to acknowledge that the highest seed they played was the 4 seed Cavs without Allen and missing Mitchell for 2 games. Then they had a 6 seed. Also an 8 seed without Butler. Then the overachieving Mavs who barely got 50 wins.
But I Do , sure, if you’re a Boston fan you won’t admit, but anybody who followed basketball in the national media has heard repeatedly that it was the easiest playoff run in the history of the NBA.
Can’t blame the Celts for the quality of their opponents during their run. They played the teams that got to those seeds/rounds.
KnockLifer , true enough. I thought the Celtics were best team in NBA last year. I’m just mentioning the popular view that they didn’t get tested in the playoffs because their opponents were hurt.
Knicks and Heat are the only ones who could tough them out in a 7 game series.
Josh Hart > 36yo Himmy > Prime Jaylen when it comes down to winning loose balls and mental warfare.
Julius Randle needs to shine on defense, and Heat need a Herro for Harden trade in order for hart and jimmy to have the supporting cast needed to outshine Jaylen.
Philly won’t do it judging by embiids mental shape last season and physical shape in the Olympics, and Milwaukee have a “satisfied with 1 chip” ‘Giannis and Doc’ problem.
If everyone’s healthy I think they take the East. Maybe, OKC can come out of the West and beat them though.
Just think how tough OKC is going to be this year. Another season under their belts and more confidence. Wow a lot of Firepower on that squad.
I don’t like where the KP injury/surgery is taking his career and Horford is just too old to put in 30 minutes a night. Celtics will be good but won’t repeat.
Their injuries ,attitude, and fatigue they’ve played a lot of ball the past few years also imo the coach and bench
What if Knicks can find a way to acquire AD?
Who or what are the Knicks going to trade for him.
Agree. You could offer up Julius and every tradeable 1st rounder the Knicks have and that still wouldn’t even begin to get it done.
He’s not a Tom Thibodeau type of player. And as Chuck says, who would they give up?
Finally some movement this year,a championship team bettering themselves, plus teams like the Heat not making no moves which could be necessary to upgrade during the season to have better results. This season could be interesting .
Main thing I’m concerned about with the Celtics is Al horford. He plays a much bigger role than People realize and he’s getting a little older.
I’ve been a huge Horford fan since his first time on the Celtics and Coach put him on Giannis and changed that series.
But wow he’s almost 40 and I think if he slows down too much or misses time that will hurt the Celtics more than most realize. I’m a huge huge fan. I think he is extremely valuable.
Of course he’s very important. If I’m Mazzulla, I’m starting Horford on the bench and try to keep him around 20-25min a game. This way Kornet, Tillman and Queta will gain more experience that will be useful in the future. Also, the Celts have a lot of fire power on other positions, so they should still win a lot.
My EAST picks:
CELTS …… KP’s absence will make for a slight dip in the standings, but they’ll still be the favored ones come the playoffs.
BUCKS ……. Doc Rivers aside, I’d say they make a deep playoff run this season ….. health and familiarity issues plagued them last season. Those Trent, Prince, Wright signings are under-rated.
KNICKS …… I place them below the BUCKS, since losing IHart will hurt, much like JHart, he brings so much winning plays. Hope they stay healthy though – Brunson just seems to work way too much.
HEAT …… Law of averages might turn in their favor this year – they might enjoy good health. Jimmy’s contract year.
SIXERS/PACERS/CAVS/MAGIC …….. Even SIXERS fans aren’t confident with Embiid staying healthy for the playoffs. They’ll also learn why PG cares more for podcasts than the playoffs.
CAVS, PACERS especially MAGIC still a year or two away, from true contention.
Honcho: what do you think the odds are of both Dame and Giannis being healthy in April?
Possibly the Knicks, Sixers, or Bucks. Don’t think anyone else can.
At full health, those three are evenly matched and any would give the Celtics a scare. The Knicks (knock on wood) will likely be the healthiest of the bunch, given the ages and track records of the key players.
It’s still Boston until something goes south there.
Celts just full of guys who are dependable and play team first ball… PS please trade porzingas…
Cavs are my pick to go closest to knocking them off…Knicks and Pacers next and then Philly, bucks and Hawks….much prefer watching the western conference
Healthy knicks or healthy sixers could…
Why is everyone sleeping on the Charlotte Hornets?
Chances are, at least one of last season’s top eight will tumble due to injuries. I’ll bet Charlotte makes the playoffs as the 8 seed.
Never have age and injuries played a bigger role as with the NBA East.
CLEAR FAVORITE
– Celtics: only player with injury history is Porzingis.
AGING AND INJURY-PRONE:
1. Bucks: Gianni’s, Dame, Middleton Lopez are either in decline or have high likelihood of missing playoffs
2. 76ers:?highly unlikely both Embiid and George are healthy for playoffs
3. Hear: Butler increasingly unavailable
INJURY PRONE:
Knicks : Anunoby, Robinson, Randle are unreliably available. losing Hartenstein was a bigger loss than addition of Bridges
PIECES DONT FIT
Cleveland: Garlland + Mitchell are both lead guards, Mobley + Allen are both centers;
ONE YEAR AWAY
1. Pacers: Mathurin, Nembhard, Jackson still young
2. Magic: Banchero, Suggs, Wagner all rising
Giannis just had the first 30 PPG season for anyone with over 60% shooting and Middleton smoked Indy in the playoffs, so you’re wrong.
But I do, you just proved the opposite point that you intended. Bucks have won ONE playoff series in the past 3 seasons because they’re always broken down.
Bucks have the roster to compete when healthy, but Giannis missed the playoffs. He’s played in 3 playoff games in the last 2 years. Dame is 34 and hasn’t been healthy for a playoff series since 2019.
We can only speak in probabilities, but they don’t look good for Milwaukee.
If BOS keeps their top 4 players healthy, and in sync, they’ll be tough to knock off. But their perimeter depth is subpar, at best, and it reduces their margin for error. It’s becoming a theme among the league’s top teams that’s likely to continue. DEN looked similar going into last season, and a compromising injury (Murray) derailed their effort to get back to the Finals.
There are plenty of teams in the East which could ascend if BOS falls. All have as many questions as BOS, but odds are at least a couple of them will find good answers.
DXC , agree 100% that Boston’s top 4 guys are the best in the East, and being relatively young and injury free, they’re the best on paper.
I’m more bullish on their perimeter players than you , especially in case of injury. They’ve got 3 guys who can run the offense in Holiday, White and Pritchard. Brown has shown he can play both the 2 and the 3. Hauser is an insanely great 3 point guy who can also defend. Pritchard is solid, at worst. They can lose any one of Brown, Holiday, and White for an extended period without dropping out of the top 2-3 teams in the East.
You’re FAR more bullish. IMO, a bench led by guys like Hauser and Pritchard is fine for spelling the core guys, but if the team needs more than that from them, the end product will be compromised.
DXC , you’re under-rating Hauser, as do a lot of people because he’s only been in league 3 yrs. There’s a reason the Celtics just gave him 4 years at $12M/yr. A 42.2% career three point shooter, he’s one of top 2-3 pure shooters in the game now. He hit TEN 3’s (30 points) in 23 minutes last year, first time in league history. And he’s a good defender, partly because he’s long.
Pritchard definitely struggles defensively, but if you look into it you’ll find he runs the Celtics offense as well as Holiday or White do. Other teams try, but Celtics make it hard to exploit Pritchard defensively.
The Celtics system relies on the versatility of their players. White and Holiday are both combo guards, Brown can play both wing positions, Tatum can play the 3 & 4, Horford the 4 & 5.
Any top team looses a starter they will have issues. Nobody wants that. KP has a history and is already hurt. It’s the only reason I bring him up. Celtics with KP are team to beat. Unfortunately his availability will always be a concern. No other contender has that. Maybe Bucks …… K
It’s a long season. So let’s see how it develops. I like Knicks chances. The center position will be dealt with. Mitch gives us 30 mins. Knicks will be fine. But I know Thibs will add depth there. Don’t count out Sims. 18-20 mins is all we need from him. As the season goes on. There will be bigs available.
Knicks, Sixers, Bucks, Cavs all are contenders. Heat. Pacers, Magic will also be there. Playoffs are going to be rumbles. No easy round imo.
Celtics are team to beat. ……
It’s emblematic of the biases around NBA media toward coastal teams that people are just preordaining Boston as the favorite. Fact is that no team outside of KD’s Warriors have made back-t0-back Finals trips. You can point largely towards the two new CBAs that followed in 2017 and 2023. Plenty of stuff in there that was a response to summer 2016. Makes it more difficult to assemble elite teams that can stick together. Boston’s time is coming as the Brown and Tatum extensions come into effect in the coming years.
Not to mention that in part because of injuries, the last two Finals champs had all-time easy paths to a ring. Denver didn’t play a 50 win team and the seedings of their opponents were 8, 4, 7, 8. Boston’s best competition last year was Milwaukee and New York and they were so injury-riddled that an overachieving Indiana squad that was also not fully healthy took them out for Boston. Then they could easily sweep them away then got another overachieving underdog served to them on a platter on the Finals.
Denver got an actual test in 2024 and saw that it’s a lot harder to win in the postseason usually. This will happen to Boston this year when they actually have to face a healthy Milwaukee or revamped Philly or New York. No more Miami sans Butler or Cleveland sans Allen and half of Mitchell.
But I do said:
> Fact is that nobody other than KD’s Warriors have have made back-to-back Finals trips
>
That’s false. The KD-less Warriors made it to the Finals in 2014-15 and 2015-16 without KD. The Curry-led Warriors made it to the Finals 5 straight years