With the basketball world glued to the spectacle that is Olympic basketball and perhaps other sports within the competition as well, the rumour mill surrounding the NBA continues to be on a slow trend—although it surely wouldn’t be for long, that I’m sure of.
But in the midst of the world’s best hoopers duking it out to bring home the gold for their countries, SBOTOP NBA fans should not lose sight of tracking how their respective teams would do come next season.
If you haven’t been up to speed lately, Paul George is now a Sixer; Dejounte Murray has been traded to the Pelicans; ‘Nova Knicks will come to the Garden; Demar DeRozan heads to Sactown; and the Splash Brothers have officially disbanded.
All these moves have been made, yet when the league released its latest power rankings update, shades of green still looked over everyone.
Celtics remain supreme
Barring a major injury or a sudden loss of talent, it is clear as day that the 18-time NBA champions are still the heavy favourites to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy according to recent NBA 2024 news.
For others, it is imperative that they shake their rosters up—rebuild, trade or rid the team of any deadweight. For the Celtics, they just needed to do one thing and one thing alone: keep the core intact.
During this off-season, Brad Stevens and co. have already signed both the starters and role players to extended contracts that keep them in Boston for the foreseeable future.
Jayson Tatum was given a whopping $314 million five-year supermax deal, whilst fellow Olympian Derrick White gets $125 million for four years. Jrue Holiday was also given his due last April when he agreed to a four-year $135 million contract.
Meanwhile, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman also received contract extensions for their part in Boston’s title-winning season.
Even if Kristaps Porzingis will be gone for a period of time and Al Horford is effectively on his last legs, this Celtics team are head and shoulders above everyone.
They were so dominant last season that everyone dismissed their accomplishments, with the common criticism being that they played in an inferior conference and that their playoff opponents were all hurt.
Sure, the Heat, Cavs and Pacers were all unlucky to miss their best players during their series match-ups against the Celtics. That much is true.
It is also true, however, that even if those teams were complete, they still wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m pretty sure we saw what happened to the West’s finest last year.
The fact of the matter is that they were just too good and about to get better.
In over 100 games last year, they outscored the opposing team by an average of 10.7 points per game. They also set a record of winning 19 games by at least 25 points and have effectively put the clamps on the Dallas Mavericks in the finals. The Luka and Kyrie-led Mavs were limited to just 106.7 points per 100 possessions—their worst five-game stretch on offence last season (if you don’t take into account the last two games of the regular season).
Bottom line: if you hate the Celtics, then this is not the best of times for you.
Challenges from the West
When the Celtics led the NBA 2024 odds for being the frontrunners to the title, few could’ve matched what they brought to the table.
But everyone has now taken notice, and they are up to the task of stopping a repeat in Massachusetts.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are also looking feisty ahead of the season, as Anthony Edwards takes the next leap of his career and would most definitely be in the MVP conversations come next year.
Lest we forget about the 2023 champs. As things stand, Nikola Jokic remains the best player in the league. And so long as he has the supporting cast of Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., they will always be in the mix. And with the addition of Russell Westbrook, they can finally have someone who can lead the way off the bench.
Dallas, of course, would want a rematch. But if Klay Thompson cannot find his touch of old, then they take a backseat in this year’s NBA sweepstakes.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
