Boston Celtics Odds to Win the NBA Finals

by: Jimmy Boyd

With the NBA playoffs right around the corner, I thought it would be helpful to take a look at a few of the top teams, weighing their chances of winning the 2008 NBA Finals. First up on the list is the team with the best overall record in the league. Check out Jimmy Boyd's 2008 Boston Celtics Odds to win the NBA Finals to see if the Celtics are clearly the team to beat.

Why they'll win it all:

Boston has already clinched home court advantage throughout the playoffs, which looks pretty good for the Celtics considering that they are 34-6 at home this season. I've always said that it takes good defense to win championships and that's something that we've seen with the Spurs in recent history and with great Celtics teams of the past. No team in the league has been better than Boston defensively this season. The Celtics rank first in the league in points against, allowing just 90.3 ppg. They also rank first in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense. Offensively, Boston has shown that it can beat you a number of ways. They rank eleventh in the league in points per game, scoring 100.5 on average. They are fourth in the league in field goal percentage, seventh in three-point field goal percentage, and eleventh in free throw shooting percentage. A team that plays defense this well and also shoots a high percentage is going to be tough to beat. Boston also has experience. We're not talking about just any experience either; we're talking All-Star experience with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. They've also added vets P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell to give them even more depth and experience. Boston has also beat up on the Western Conference which, by and large, is considered superior to the East. The Celtics hold a 25-5 record against the West this season and would seemingly have an advantage over the West in the NBA Finals.

Why they won't:

Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have both missed some time with injuries this season. If either player goes down during the playoffs, the Celtics will be missing a key piece of the puzzle. Boston, collectively, is not a team with much big game experience. That's a big reason why Doc Rivers wanted to bring Sam Cassell in. While Garnett, Allen, and Pierce have all played on teams which had good seasons and made playoff runs, these three have played far more meaningless games. With these vets knowing that this is likely their best chance to win it all, the pressure could end up being too much. We saw last season that having the best record in the league doesn't always mean anything as the Mavs went down in the first round to Golden State. While I don't see Boston making an early exit, it will likely have to go through an experienced and talented Detroit Pistons team which has been there before.

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