A New NBA Favorite
by AAA Sports
Monday, Apr 24, 2023The Celtics are in the process of wrapping up their Eastern Conference series against the Hawks, and the stars appear to be aligned properly for Boston to make a second straight run to the Finals.Assuming that Atlanta proves nothing more than the minor annoyance the Hawks were expected to be, the road ahead for Boston looks much smoother than it did a few weeks ago when oddsmakers had the Bucks as the favorites to win it all.Milwaukee has its hands full with Play-In survivor Miami after Giannis Antetokounmpo went crumbling to the floor in an injury which has helped the Heat take a 2-1 edge heading into Game 4. The status of Antetokounmpo’s lower back injury will have a lot to say about the EC playoff scene.The Celtics also might have gotten a huge boost when the 76ers – trying to reach their first ECF since Allen Iverson was carrying the team on his back in 2001 – have been forced to deal with an injury to expected MVP Joel Embiid. Embiid sat out Philly’s series-clinching win over Brooklyn last weekend, but his sprained right knee could be problematic against the Celtics.Toss in a wild Western Conference playoffs where injuries are also taking a toll, and things are lining up pretty well for the healthy Celtics. Most books have now made Boston the favorite to win the title -- +250 at FanDuel, +275 at BetMGM, +260 at Caesars. Milwaukee has been leapfrogged and is now next, followed by the +410 Suns (finally getting their act together). The 76ers are at +750.So the door appears wide open for the Celtics, if for no other reason than that SOMEBODY has to be the favorite.And Boston does have a lot of ammo. Only a late-season shooting slump that has extended into the playoffs kept Jayson Tatum from making a legit run at the MVP award, and Jaylen Brown is also capable to taking over a game and creating shots when the offense bogs down. Add in the emergence of Derrick White, the good health of shot blocker/rim runner Robert Williams and a deep bench anchored by 6th Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon, and the pieces appear in place.But there are some buts.The Celtics have developed a nasty habit of pissing away large leads and not being able to seal the deal late in games, resulting in several unnecessary losses post-All-Star Game and the loss of home-court advantage in a possible ECF series against Milwaukee.There is also concern that Boston’s reliance on the 3-pointer, which served the Celtics so well during a 57-win regular season, might be the team’s undoing when things get tight later in the playoffs and opponents can game-plan.And speaking of game-planning, can Boston realistically expect to win a championship with a 34-year-old rookie head coach with no NBA HC experience? Mazzulla has raised eyebrows with some of his inconsistent and varied rotations and an unwillingness to call time-outs to break runs by opponents. Can he raise his game and at the same time convince the Celtics to keep their foot on the accelerator, hoping to avoid a crash-and-burn as they did in Games 5 and 6 last year in the Finals against the Warriors?Oddsmakers think that the Celtics will figure things out, or at least may be the last team standing when all of their injury-stained opponents haven’t had the depth to make it all the way. Every other Boston team (Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots) has won a championship since Boston raised Banner #17 in 2008. Books think that that streak is about to end.
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