Should the Philadelphia 76ers be considered the favorites to defeat the Boston Celtics this upcoming 2024-2025 NBA season? As the majority of fans should be aware, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics squad finally got the job done last season. They defeated Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA Finals in order to win a title.
Being the defending champion comes with a sense of pressure. Several NBA champions have revealed that the seasons after winning a title are similar to having a target painted on their back. After all, every team will step up and do their best for a game against the champs.
While winning a regular season game is one thing, getting past the Boston Celtics in a 7 game postseason series is very different. Although the Celtics will be favored in virtually any matchup, one should wonder if the new-look Philadelphia 76ers have a good shot at drafting them.
The Philadelphia 76ers now have a legitimate big 3
Any team that falls short of winning an NBA championship always looks to make upgrades and improvements to their roster. The Philadelphia 76ers are one such team and were eliminated from the first round of the playoffs by the New York Knicks. Given that there is no way to tell how long Joel Embiid will play at an elite level, the 76ers believe that they have a window to win right now.
“We are going to be coming to take the title away from them.” 👀
– Daryl Morey on the Boston Celtics
(🎥 @975TheFanatic )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 26, 2024
As a result, the team added Paul Geroge to their roster. By bringing on PG from the Los Angeles Clippers and pairing him up with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, the Philadelphia 76ers have a legitimate big 3 and are a serious title contender in theory.
While the Boston Celtics have quite a lot of talent at the wing position, they still have no answer for Joel Embiid. Under the assumption that Embiid plays near an MVP level, the 76ers certainly have enough firepower to get the better of the Celtics. However, there is no way to know for certain if both of these teams will even face off in the postseason.
What other Eastern Conference teams have a good chance to defeat the Celtics?
There are 3 other teams in the Eastern Conference with a decent chance to get past the Boston Celtics. The Miami Heat have already proven that they can do so in the past. In fact, one could argue that the Heat may have eliminated the Celtics this postseason if they had Jimmy Butler on the court.
Another team is the Milwaukee Bucks. Having Giannis and Dame in the starting lineup should give the Bucks a chance against the best teams in the league. Much like the Heat, Milwaukee dealt with injuries to its stars during the playoffs. The New York Knicks are another team to keep an eye on. They added Mikal Bridges to their roster in order to get even better.Any of these teams has a chance to catch the Celtics off guard and eliminate them in the next postseason. However, it is no real surprise that Boston will be favored to win against any team they match up against.