With about a week and a half to go in the NBA regular season, we already know who will finish with the best record. That is the Boston Celtics.
The Celtics improved their record to 60-16 with Wednesday night’s win. They easily dispatched of the Oklahoma City Thunder by the score of 135-100. Boston outscored the Thunder 42-17 in the fourth quarter. It is their first season of at least 60 wins since 2008-09.
With six regular season games remaining, the Celtics now know they will enter the postseason with home court advantage throughout.
Expect many of their key players to get rest days to ensure they enter the playoffs at full-strength. That could be especially true for 28-year-old Kristaps Porzingis. The 7-2 center has had his laundry list of ailments throughout his career. Porzingis has fit seemlessly though for the Celtics when on the court in what is his first season with the club.
Eastern Conference Powerhouse Clinches NBA’s Best Record
Are the Celtics Clear Favorites to Win it All?
Boston has a ridiculous 13-game lead over the second seed in the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks. The Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets are tied for the second-best record at 53-23.
Does the Celtics regular season dominance make them the obvious favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship?
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, they are the favorites, but not a sure thing. As of this writing, Boston’s odds were listed at +200. The defending champion Nuggets are next at +340. Rounding out the top four are the Los Angeles Clippers (+700) and Bucks (+750).
The Celtics are fairly heavy favorites to win the Eastern Conference as their odds are set at -130.
Aiming for 18th Championship Banner
In their storied history, the Boston Celtics have won the NBA Championship 17 times. That is tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for the most in league history.
Fans that are aware of the history of the game surely know how dominant the Celtics franchise was in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. From the 1956-57 until the 1968-69 season, Boston won a title 11 times in that 13-season span.
Boston’s last championship came in 2008 over the Lakers. Since then, they have made the NBA Finals two times. In 2010, they fell to the same Lakers team they beat two seasons prior. In 2022, they lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Their 2008 championship ended a 22-year drought without one. They had last won it all in 1986 prior to their most recent title.
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