NBA Preview of 2024-25 Title Contenders – Part I

The 2024-25 NBA regular season begins Tuesday, Oct. 22nd, as the Boston Celtics raise their league-best 18th championship banner to the rafters. 

It’s no coincidence the opponent is the New York Knicks, the two favorites to win the East and (along with the Oklahoma City Thunder) leading outposts to hoist the next Larry O’Brien Trophy.

Boston whipped the Dallas Mavericks handily in the NBA Finals last season, and the Celtics may again offer the best starting quintet in the league (more about them in a bit). However, the Knicks have retooled in the never-ending (half-century) quest to win a championship.

New York acquired Mikal Bridges (Brooklyn Nets) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), respectively. Those two stars now have to incorporate themselves with the current roster led by Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby.

Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo (to Minny) and Isiah Hartenstein (to Thunder) are gone.

We will discuss the Celtics, Thunder and Knicks in this missive, as these are the aforementioned three wagering favorites to win the title, according to NBA odds.

Boston Celtics +315

With a core that’s the current standard in the league. It’s no surprise the Boston Celtics are again the team to beat.

The Celtics, coached by Joe Mazzulla, retained Jayson Tatum (26.9 points/game last season and Olympic DNP’s notwithstanding), Finals MVP Jaylen Brown (23.9 points/game playoffs), Derrick White, Xavier Tillman, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta, Boston also added ex-Net Lonnie Walker IV (a former first-round selection), along with Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman through the draft.

There’s concern surrounding Kristaps Porzingis, however. He suffered a torn retinaculum and dislocated his posterior tibialis tendon in his left leg this past postseason. Porzingis won’t be back by the start of the season but may see action before the calendar turns over.

Do not discount 39-year-old Al Horford and what he brings to the roster.

Boston is projected to have a league-high victory total of 58½, as per NBA regular-season wins.

Oklahoma City Thunder 7-1 (+700)

So, after a 57-25 season in 2023-24, the Oklahoma City Thunder believe they’re even better.

The team re-signed Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, traded Josh Giddey to the Chicago Bulls to obtain Alex Caruso . OKC signed pivot man Isaiah Hartenstein, ex of the New York Knicks, and  drafted Serb Nikola Topic. Hartenstein’s three-season, $87 million deal is the biggest free-agent signing in the team’s history.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30.1 points/game last season) makes the team go, ably assisted by Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

If there’s any issue with coach Mark Daigneault’s Thunder, it may be the depth. Thus, perhaps wait to see how the bench performs before any investment.

New York Knickerbockers 8-1 (+800)

This is season 52 since the New York Knicks last won a title. That’s Richard Nixon territory.

As was mentioned, it’s Mikal Bridges (19.6 points/game with Brooklyn Nets last season) and Karl-Anthony Towns (21.8 points/game with Minnesota Timberwolves) as two of the prominent change-of-venue players in the offseason. Jalen Brunson (28.7 points/game) has improved his scoring each of the past five seasons.

There’s a reshuffling of the deck chairs with the departure of Julius Randle. Donte DiVincenzo and Isaiah Hartenstein, among others.

Is coach Tom Thibodeau’s team offering fair value considering they haven’t won a title in many a moon? We just report and you decide.