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The storied franchise looks to become the Eastern Conference’s first back-to-back NBA champs since the Miami Heat in 2012-13 and has all the ingredients to repeat.

More so, which contender has improved enough to knock the Celtics off? There isn’t a team to point to that projects that much improvement.

Boston Celtics’ Dominant 2023-24 Season

The Boston Celtics of 2023-24 rolled to the franchise’s record-setting 18th NBA title and did so in dominant fashion.

The Celtics, coached by 36-year-old Joe Mazzula, were in control in every post-season series and finally got over the playoff hump after losing in the 2022 NBA Finals and in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals in seven games.

The Celtics upgraded their team with the addition of Jrue Holiday in the 2023 off-season and this off-season retained their eight rotation players.

Retaining the core was the big move, but it came at an expensive price tag, especially after harsher penalties for teams over the luxury tax threshold apply in the 2025 off-season per the league’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

According to ESPN, the Celtics could be heading to a tax bill that is larger than the franchise's projected team salary for 2025-26 ($225 million dollars).

Sportsbook Odds for Boston Celtics To Win NBA Title

The Core and Future Outlook

The good news for Boston is the franchise has its core entering its NBA prime and has 11 players under contract through 2025-26.

• The table is set for a franchise that surpassed its rival Los Angeles Lakers in total NBA titles with No. 18 and is more than a solid bet to capture No. 19 in 2024-25.

With a bit of luck and health, the Celtics should repeat for the first time since the end of the Bill Russell dynasty in 1968-69, when the player-coach led the storied franchise to titles No. 10 and No. 11 (in 13 seasons) while becoming the youngest head coach to win a title until Mazzula stepped on the scene.

It’s hard to believe, but Larry Bird’s Celtics never repeated in the 1980s and in today’s podcast-centric NBA culture, you would think the Doc Rivers-KG-Paul Pierce-led Celtics teams surely won more than one title (2008) the way they speak publicly on other teams and players? Didn’t they?

Key Motivating Factors

Two key factors will play a role in a potential repeat for Boston: Motivation and the moves made by other serious contenders.

The Celtics have plenty of it and did the league’s other contenders improve enough to beat them when it matters in a seven-game series? We don’t see it.

Ownership Transition and Financial Implications

Even in a time of winning, the Celtics are in a transition period, as owner Wyc Grousbeck and his family put its controlling interest in the franchise up for sale in the off-season and the two-tier move is expected to be complete by 2028.

Regardless of whom the controlling owner is after the sale is complete, the new CBA rules will make it awfully tough for dynasties to stay in-tact. That was done purposely in an attempt to bring more parity to a league with plenty of small market teams.

It might work, so for the Celtics the focus is now and the legacy of this team’s core will be enough to get it over the top.

Not only is there team motivation, there is individual motivation as well.

• Jayson Tatum, who signed a record 5-year, $314 million extension in the off-season, will use his 2024 Olympic experience as internal motivation, as he has plenty to prove to the league’s brass and to dispel the notion he’s not one of the NBA’s five best players.

Some long-time NBA insiders feel he’ll never win a NBA MVP, but the Celtics’ front office knows exactly how good and valuable Tatum is to the franchise. The same can be said for bookend forward Jaylen Brown, who signed a supermax 5-year, $303.7 million extension in the summer of 2023.

His ball-handling and turnovers issues are well-chronicled, but he’s one of the best players in the league and complements Tatum so well.

Celtics' Backcourt and Player Development

1. In the backcourt, versatile Derrick White (4-year, $125 million) and playoff hero Jrue Holiday make up one of the NBA’s best backcourts.
2. White, a two-time member of the NBA’s all-defensive team and a member of 2024 Team USA, had a 38-point playoff game and is primed to make an all-star team in the next two seasons as he hits 30 years old.

Holiday weakened one of the Celtic’s chief opponents when he came over from the Milwaukee Bucks after the 2022-23 season and with another fine playoff run Holiday could be headed to the NBA Hall of Fame.

He’s not a first ballot type of guy, but he’s in the mold and range of Showtime Lakers guard Michael Cooper, a recent HOF inductee, with his defense and clutch play.

The 34-year-old Holiday is a two-time Olympian has made two all-star teams and been a six-time all-defensive choice. This team could very well help Holiday reach hallowed NBA ground should it repeat.

Injury Concerns and Rotation Strategies

As far as injuries go, Kristaps Porzingis will be out for the first portion of the regular season, which begins on October 22 at home vs. the New York Knicks, which is one of the serious contenders capable of challenging this Boston unit for supremacy in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

The Celtics’ core has plenty of experience without Porzingis in the lineup and that will open up playing combinations that Mazzula will utilize down the stretch as the Celtics look to hold home court advantage in the playoffs as it did in 2023-24.

• Boston went 64-18 last season while the Knicks went 50-32, good for the No. 2 seed in the East.

Assessing the Competition: Eastern Conference Threats

New York Knicks

It’s clear the Knicks want to win now, as they mortgaged their future by adding Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets. Bridges is a durable star who’s blossomed over the past two years and will fit into Tom Thibodeau’s hard-charging style.

1. He joins the “Nova Knocks” as yet another standout on Villanova teams that won NCAA titles in 2016 and 2018, led by Jalen Brunson.
2. The star guard inked a 4-year, $156.5 million deal instead of signing for much more a year from now to allow the Knicks roster flexibility in pursuit of the franchise’s first NBA title since 1973.
3. Barring major injuries to the Celtics, it won’t be enough and the Knicks’ roster health will be even more prominent for a team with less depth and plenty of new faces.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers (47-35 in 2023-24) are in position to challenge both the Celtics and Knicks in their division.

• Earning the No. 2 seed is more than realistic, but can this club get over the hump in the playoffs? It won’t be easy, although its fans and many NBA followers feel the roster upgrades qualify as the league’s best. We’re not so certain.
• Signing the star of the free agency class, Paul George, and adding pieces such as center Andre Drummond, guard Eric Gordon, forward Caleb Martin and guard Reggie Jackson, in addition to drafting Duke’s Jared McCain, gives this franchise hope of advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2001.

With star guard Tyrese Maxey, who signed a five-year, $204 million extension, MVP candidate Joel Embiid and George in the fold, the 76ers have the necessary firepower to make a serious title run.

George, however, will turn 35 during the 2025 playoffs and has never been the superstar the media make him out to be. Sure, he’s a good player but similar to his coach Doc Rivers, the teams he's led have underachieved more than they have got it done over the years.

What will make this season any different? This 76ers team has a high ceiling, but their basement looms big, too, if things don’t click at the right time down the stretch.

Do the off-season losses of Tobias Harris, Nicolas Batum, and De'Anthony Melton translate to player swaps, or was there truly a big enough upgrade to beat the Celtics?

Conclusion: Boston Celtics' Championship Prospects

The 76ers and Knicks have plenty to prove, but the Celtics are going to play like the team with just as much, or more, to prove. That, plus Boston’s proven chemistry, will make all the difference in 2024-25.