Why the Boston Celtics Will Not Win the 2024-25 NBA Championship

Boston failed to make key moves in the offseason, hindering their chances of a repeat. Other teams have significantly improved, providing more competition for the Celtics. Injured stars like Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and Julius Randle will return, posing a threat to Boston's title defense.

After a 2023-24 NBA Championship season for the Boston Celtics , many fans expect them to repeat their dominant run. However, there are multiple reasons why this likely won't happen, and it has to do with both decisions from the Celtics front office and other teams. Boston Failed to Make Any Key Moves in the Offseason The NBA offseason is the ideal time when franchises make their biggest key moves and improve their rosters for the following season.



For some reason, the Celtics didn't take advantage of this period as they didn't make a single rotation transaction during that past summer. Even though they won the 2023-24 NBA Championship and could still be considered the best overall team on paper, a team is unlikely to win consecutive rings with the same roster they had the previous season. It also seems like an arrogant decision that Boston had the leverage to make moves but chose not to because they believe they're set to repeat as champs.

While other teams made key acquisitions to improve, Boston re-signed players who were on expiring contracts and didn't bring in any new assets aside from the 2024 NBA Draft . Even then, the Celtics had the last overall pick in the first round and a very late pick in the second round, which means that neither Baylor Scheierman nor Anton Watson will affect the team this coming season. Although they still have one of the best starting lineups in the NBA today, with Derrick White , Jrue Holiday , Jaylen Brown , Jayson Tatum , and Kristaps Porzingis , not making any key transactions has resulted in zero improvements on their bench.

Brown and Tatum are the team's two biggest stars, and Brown had a massive involvement in winning the 2023-24 NBA Championship for the Celtics . Last season, they didn't have a single bench player put up double-digit numbers in scoring, rebounding, and assists, which resulted in them having to rely on their starters much more. They could have changed that this offseason by signing solid pieces that would have fit well in the rotation, but decided not to.

One key injury and the Celtics could find themselves scrambling. Eastern Conference Teams Are After the Celtics With the Boston Celtics not taking up any possible opportunities in the 2024 NBA offseason, it allowed for other teams to do just that. This has led to many teams in the East improving massively from the previous season and will result in more competition for the Celtics in 2024-25.

2023-24 Eastern Conference Standings Seed Team Record 1 Boston Celtics 64-18 2 New York Knicks 50-32 3 Milwaukee Bucks 49-33 4 Cleveland Cavaliers 48-34 5 Orlando Magic 47-35 6 Indiana Pacers 47-35 7 Philadelphia 76ers 47-35 8 Miami Heat 46-36 The New York Knicks acquired Mikal Bridges to reunite him with Jalen Brunson and his fellow Villanova boys. The Knicks were ravaged by injuries last season. But with a clean bill of health, they should be in line to be Boston's biggest threat in the East.

Not to be outdone are the Philadelphia 76ers , who made a huge move in the 2024 offseason by signing All-Star forward Paul George. He is one of the best shooting forwards in the league, and his great defensive ability from both the perimeter and interior is another reason why he is one of the most skilled players today. His addition to the All-Star pairing of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey has cemented Philadelphia with arguably the best big three in the NBA.

Along with the Knicks, they could also be a team that can dethrone Boston this season. With a superstar tandem in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard , it's hard to count out the Milwaukee Bucks in the mix. Like New York and Philly, Milwaukee also did not stand pat this offseason.

Though the Bucks didn't make any big splash, they addressed their weaknesses around the edges by signing Gary Trent Jr. , Taurean Prince , and Delon Wright . Western Conference Teams Also Got Better The Dallas Mavericks , their Finals opponents from last season also re-tooled by luring Klay Thompson away from the Golden State Warriors.

Apart from that, they also bolstered their perimeter depth by signing Naji Marshall, acquiring Quentin Grimes, and bringing back Spencer Dinwiddie. The No. 1 seeded Oklahoma City Thunder also got better.

They bolstered their defense by trading for defensive stalwart Alex Caruso and addressed their rebounding concerns by signing Isaiah Hartenstein . Led by MVP runner-up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander , the Thunder are only going to make more noise next season. 2023-24 Western Conference Standings Seed Team Record 1 Oklahoma City Thunder 57-25 2 Denver Nuggets 57-25 3 Minnesota Timberwolves 56-26 4 Los Angeles Clippers 51-31 5 Dallas Mavericks 50-32 6 Phoenix Suns 49-33 7 New Orleans Pelicans 49-33 8 Los Angeles Lakers 47-35 The New Orleans Pelicans , a play-in team in 2023-24, have also turned into borderline contenders over the summer .

The major reason for this is the acquisition of star guard Dejounte Murray , who will be a key player for them in the next few seasons. He will be joined by multiple other stars such as Zion Williamson , Brandon Ingram , and CJ McCollum , and they are coming into 2024-25 with one of the best starting lineups. Fortunately for them, they also have a great bench, as Herbert Jones , Trey Murphy III , and Jose Alvarado are all players who have shown to be valuable assets and will be essential to their future.

The Sacramento Kings are another team that made a major move that has pushed them into contender status . They added a multiple-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan to their All-Star pairing of Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox . DeRozan had a great 2023-24 season with the Chicago Bulls , but the team struggled as a whole, which resulted in them being eliminated in the play-in.

The same can be said for the Kings, though they had a much better record coming into the play-in. With DeRozan on the team now, Sacramento has turned into a much better team that will likely not have to worry about missing the playoffs anytime soon. Injured Players Set to Return Another key reason why the Celtics will not repeat in 2024-25 is because many injured stars will be returning and contributing heavily in the season.

These include players from both NBA Conferences, but because the Celtics are in the East, players returning from that conference will have a more direct effect on them in terms of competition. The most important player that comes to mind is Embiid from the 76ers. Embiid was on track to win his second straight MVP award, but a meniscus injury limited him to just 39 regular season appearances.

He returned from injury near the end of the season and played in the playoffs, but was clearly limited due to the injury. Embiid not being completely healthy resulted in the 76ers losing in the first round. But with him coming back ready and Paul George joining the team in the 2024-25 season, they are going to be a much bigger threat to the defending champions .

Another key player who was not healthy during the 2023-24 NBA playoffs was Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler . Butler was hurt during Miami's first play-in game and would miss the first round of the playoffs, in which the team got eliminated. He is the team's top star and improves heavily in the post-season each year .

Julius Randle is also an important player in the Eastern Conference who was not available for the majority of the 2023-24 NBA season. Despite that, the Knicks were still able to advance to the second round of the playoffs that year. Unfortunately, they were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers after taking them to seven games.

Randle is set to return by the start of the 2024-25 NBA season. The power forward was playing at an All-Star level before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. The three-time All-Star's return will have a huge impact on New York this season and makes them a legitimate threat to the Celtics' hopes to repeat.

Ultimately, with multiple top players returning and many new teams turning into contenders, as well as not making any key moves in the 2024 offseason, it will be very difficult for the Boston Celtics to repeat as NBA Champions. All statistics courtesy of ESPN In 2024-25, the Boston Celtics will aim to win their second straight title. Here are 3 predictions.

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