The Boston Celtics have dominated the NBA regular season and the postseason as well. This campaign, the Celtics finished the regular season with a 64-18 record, the best in the NBA, and 37-4 at home, the best home record not just in the East but in the entire league.
My SBOTOP writing buddy, Jordan, a dyed-in-the-wool Celtics fan, believe that the team’s success was mainly because of the stellar offseason moves by Celtics GM Brad Stevens, who managed to acquire the likes of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis without giving up their star duo, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
With their starting five of White, Holiday, Tatum, Brown, and Porzingis, the Celtics made light work of every adversary that came their way, which in turn, according to the NBA 2024 betting odds, made them the clear favourites to win the Larry O’Brien trophy since the early stages of the season.
However, when the postseason started, Boston lost their star big man, Porzingis, after suffering an injury in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Miami Heat. But that didn’t seem to cause much trouble for the mighty Celtics, as they proceeded to dominate their way to the NBA finals even without their starting center.
Now that the NBA Finals is on the horizon, the biggest question for the Celtics is whether Kristaps Porzingis will play in the culminating series of the season.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla remained vague with regards to the availability of their big man, stating, “I do know he ramped it up on the court a bit, and he’s working really, really hard.” “I know he is getting better and better.”
Porzingis last played on April 29, and with Game 1 of the NBA Finals set for June 6, the Latvian star would have had at least five weeks of recovery time since the injury.
Even if Porzingis does suit up for Game 1 of the finals, rust, conditioning, and court feel could still factor into his performance. Luckily for Mazzulla and Celtics fans, they have serviceable role players, notably Al Horford, who could fill in the void left by Porzingis.
Bronny James stays in the NBA draft
James, a freshman guard out of USC, has had tremendous success in his pre-draft process, elevating his stock all the way from being No. 98 to being a No. 54 prospect, which is enough for the 19-year-old to forgo his college eligibility and remain in the draft.
“Bronny’s [draft] range is wide,” James’ agent, Rich Paul, stated in an interview. “He’s a really good prospect who has a lot of room for growth. It only takes one team. I don’t care where that team is—it can be No. 1 or 58—but I do care about the plan, the development, the team’s strategy, the opportunity and the financial commitment. That’s why I’m not doing a two-way deal. Every team understands that.”
Bronny’s draft stock took a drastic upswing thanks to his athleticism and sound performances in the NBA combine. It does help that the 2025 draft class isn’t as strong as compared to draft classes in the past, but with how things are going, it’s not hard to imagine Bronny suiting up for an NBA team next season.
If that’s next to his father, LeBron James, or not, the basketball world could just wait and see.
Clippers, Lue agree to a long-term contract extension
Despite their recent first-round exit, the Clippers organisation opted to bring back their head coach, Tyronn Lue, and give him a long-term contract. It was reported that Lou’s new contract is worth about $14 million per year through the 2028–29 season.
“T Lue is everything we want in a head coach. He’s a brilliant tactician and a natural leader with an extraordinary ability to connect with those around him, both players and staff,” Clippers boss Lawrence Frank stated. “Four years ago, we felt privileged to hire T Lue, and we feel just as fortunate today. There’s no one we’d rather coach our team. T Lue is a pillar of the organisation and will be for a very long time.”
This move comes as a breath of fresh air amidst the head coaching carousel the NBA has gotten accustomed to in the past few years.
Teams like the Lakers, Grizzlies, Wizards, and Suns, to name a few, have recently hired or are still looking for a new head coach to lead their squad in the next season, so it’s refreshing to see an organisation sticking with their guy and running it back.
In his four-year spell with the Clippers, Lou has tallied a winning record of 184-134 as their head coach. Aside from their first-round upset, Lou and the Clippers have had successful NBA 2024 results and a division title to boot. So, the decision to keep the championship-calibre coach wasn’t that hard of a decision.
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