Red-Hot Celtics Have Best Chance At NBA Title, According To FiveThirtyEight

The Celtics are the hottest team in the NBA, entering Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons on a nine-game winning streak. And while it’s not worth putting too much stock into this recent stretch (you know, streaks are meant to be broken and all of that), the numbers suggest Boston could keep its winning ways rolling into the postseason.

FiveThirtyEight, a website that explores politics, sports and science topics through a lens of data, has published a running count of each NBA team’s chances to make the playoffs, make the NBA Finals and win a championship.

The Celtics had a dominant victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night, and that quickly was reflected in the site’s projections. As of Wednesday night, the Celtics have the best chance in the league to win the NBA Finals at 23%, according to FiveThirtyEight.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Phoenix Suns are in second with a 17% chance to win the championship.

The site gives Boston a greater-than 99% chance to make the postseason and 37% chance to make the finals. The Bucks are given a 30% chance to make the NBA Finals, while the Suns are the leaders in that category in the Western Conference at 32%.

There’s still plenty of basketball left to play, but this certainly is an encouraging data point heading into the NBA All-Star break.

For what it’s worth, the Celtics are 30-to-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the title. So if you’re someone who trusts in the data, now may be the time to buy in on Boston.