After making a run to the NBA Finals last season, the Boston Celtics have gotten off to another tremendous start and appear ready to go deep again.
It’s hard to find a lot of flaws in a team that currently boasts a 34-12 record and has a 4.5-game lead atop the Eastern Conference. Boston demonstrated in the postseason last year that their star players are up for the challenge and can still improve in the second half.
Let’s look into the Boston Celtics future odds to both win the NBA Championship and the Eastern Conference.
Odds courtesy of the FanDuel Sportsbook.
Celtics Have Roster to Finish the JobOne of the best things about the NBA is the constant arguments about greatness and where players rank on the All-Time lists, or even where you’d slot them as they currently stand in today’s game. With such a star-studded league, Jayson Tatum likely finds himself on the outside looking in when it comes to the top five players in basketball, but he’s certainly in the conversation. There’s no doubt about that.
The Celtics forward is averaging career-highs across the board and is currently sitting with over 30 points per game for the first time in his career. Of course, Tatum can’t do it on his own, but he’s made sure that he gives the C’s a chance to win every time he’s on the court, which was highly evident in their run to the NBA Finals last year.
Tatum’s sidekick is Jaylen Brown, who’s continued to get better each season since he debuted in the league back in 2016-17. Brown is also averaging a career-best 26.9 points per game and has given Boston a great number two option behind Tatum. Brown can really do it all on the basketball court with athleticism, and the improvements of this one-two punch have really emphasized Boston’s chances of getting back to the NBA Finals again.
Boston currently owns the shortest odds to win the Eastern Conference at +180, which aligns with their dominant start to the regular season at the midway point. There are certainly challengers in the East, whether the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, or Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the Celtics have proven worthy of their current stature as the East’s best team, and there’s still value in backing their current odds to win the conference.
In addition to owning the top odds to win the East, the Celtics are currently the favorites to down the NBA Championship too, where they own +390 odds. The experience they gained during last season’s playoff run can’t be understated and should be helpful for a team looking to capture their first title since 2008.
Other competitors out West stick out, whether the Denver Nuggets or Memphis Grizzlies, but neither of those teams has had the experience this Celtics team brings to the equation. With their current price still sitting firmly above +300, it’s hard not to buy into the Celtics odds to get over the hump and win the ‘Ship.
