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Boston Celtics Odds to Win the 2008 NBA Finals
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.
Bet the Boston Celtics at 3/2 odds to win the NBA Finals
at BodogLife.com.
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 33-6 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.
Take a look at our
Cavs Celtics
predictions.
Other odds to Win the 2008
NBA Finals:
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