With the NBA season approaching rapidly, there remains one question for New England sports fans. Can the Celtics really run it back? If you look at the Celtics 2023-2024 NBA season, to the naked eye the clear answer is yes. They went 64-18 in the regular season finishing #1 in the east, and went an absurd 16-3 in the playoffs. In the playoffs they also never lost more than 1 game in a single series, anybody would call this pure dominance. A Timberlane senior Caleb Goldman was quoted as saying “The Celtics are the best team in the NBA by far. No one can match their defense, hustle and their overall playmaking ability. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are two of the best players on both sides of the floor.” According to ESPN analytics the Celtics have a 99.9% chance to make the playoffs.
While all of this seems like tremendous news and makes it seem like the Celtics are almost bound to win again they face a ton of adversity this upcoming season. The biggest question for the Celtics in the East is the New York Knicks. This off season they acquired their problem at center in Karl Anthony Towns. The Knicks and Celtics did not face off in the playoffs, but they did give the Celtics a world of trouble in the regular season when the two faced off. The Celtics did go 4-1 against them in the regular season, but almost every single game was a nail biter. With the addition of Towns the Celtics could be in big trouble in the run for the Eastern Conference.
As we move over to the Western conference we look at the Dallas Mavericks. This was the team the Celtics matched up against in the NBA finals where the Celtics took the win in the series, 4-1. The Mavericks are a less experienced team almost all around on the floor but they are powered by superstar Luka Doncic. In the off-season the Mavericks also acquired some experience they lacked, in one of the best shooters in NBA history, Klay Thompson. This takes some of the pressure off of Luka. This will help spread the floor for their team more, and will pose a difficult challenge on the defensive side of the ball if the two were to meet again.
Overall, majority of the people would say the Celtics are in good shape. They bring all of their key pieces back and they have their two superstars in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The question still remains… can the Celtics go back to back? With the NBA season coming up, it will be entertaining to find out.
