Tag: 2023 nba championship

Tim Bontemps picks the Boston Celtics to win it all in 2023

On a recent episode of the ESPN “NBA Crosscourt” show with host Ros Gold-Onwude, Bontemps explained why he sees good times ahead for Boston.

The Boston Celtics are among the favorites to win it all in 2023, so it is not exactly going out on a limb to suggest they could be hanging a banner soon. But the odds always favor the field over any particular individual club, so it takes a little boldness for an NBA analyst to suggest a specific team is going to win the title this early in the playoffs.

But ESPN’s Tim Bontemps did exactly that, calling the league’s 2023 championship in favor of the Celtics. He also gave three reasons he thinks this is the Celtics’ year.

Speaking on a recent episode of the ESPN “NBA Crosscourt” show with host Ros Gold-Onwude, Bontemps explained why he sees good times ahead for Boston.

To hear his arguments for yourself, take a look at the clip embedded above.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Why the Boston Celtics won’t win the 2023 NBA title (according to Bleacher Report)

B/R believes that ” Boston’s marriage to the 3-ball” could be their downfall.

Before you break out your pitchforks and torches to go after Dan Favale of Bleacher Report for poo-pooing the notion of the Boston Celtics hanging Banner 18 this summer, let it be known the B/R NBA analyst did the same for every team in the league as a thought experiment for each club’s potentially fatal flaw.

For the Celtics, Favale believes ” Boston’s marriage to the 3-ball” could be its downfall. “Minimal rim pressure is a byproduct of the Celtics’ live-and-die-by-the-3 model,” he writes, noting star forward Jayson Tatum has been among the worst high-volume 3-point shooters in the NBA this season in terms of efficiency.

“A healthy Robert Williams III arms them with a career rim-runner and helps some,” hedges Favale, who notes the “offense still places in the 12th percentile of rim pressure when he’s on the floor.”

The B/R analyst doesn’t see the Atlanta Hawks as a serious threat to Boston, but these concerns get “dicier when projecting ahead to potential matchups with the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks or Cleveland Cavaliers.”

As much as we would like to disagree, Favale is correct in surmising the weakness of Boston in finding other sorts of easy baskets with consistency. If they truly want to prove this estimation wrong, finding some success in the midrange, in particular, could prove key.

We’re looking at you, Jaylen Brown, given that is as much your forte on this team as anyone.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Paul Pierce on working with Kevin Garnett to help guide today’s Celtics in pursuit of a banner

Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had the benefit of previous generations of Celtics greatness to lean on in their quest to win it all, and are now paying that debt forward.

When it was time to pursue Banner 17 in earnest, Hall of Fame Boston Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had the benefit of previous generations of Celtics greatness to lean on in their quest. Tommy Heinsohn, Cedric Maxwell and Bill Russell made themselves available to help the Boston stars of that era rise to historic greatness as well.

Now, trying to pay that debt forward, Garnett and Pierce have made themselves available in a similar way to the current Celtics. We even see Pierce talking at length about his and KG’s newfound commitment to helping the next generation of Boston legends on an episode of the team-produced “View from the Rafters” podcast.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what The Ticket and The Truth had to say about reconnecting with the team they hung a banner with ahead of (hopefully) hanging another.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on”

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Who needs a ring more – the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, or Milwaukee Bucks?

And what about the teams in the league’s Western Conference for that matter?

A number of teams around the league are starting to feel the pressure to win an NBA title. The Boston Celtics are, unexpectedly, one of them in the wake of rumblings that star forward Jaylen Brown may not be thrilled with the club that drafted him third overall in 2016.

But what other contenders or pretenders are under similar pressure to win it all in 2023? Could we say that the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers are as well? And what about the teams in the Western Conference?

The host of the eponymous Volume “Hoops Tonight with Jason Timpf” podcast recently dived into this very question on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say about what teams are feeling the heat when it comes to hanging banners.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Ranking the contenders for the 2023 NBA title

Where do the Boston Celtics stack up among their peers?

As we inch ever closer to the end of the 2022-23 NBA season, the true title contenders are coming into focus. In addition to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference, it is safe to say the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers have a claim to such a status. In the league’s Western Conference, we can say the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets should be able to say they are true contenders with confidence.

But among those five clubs, how would one rank them according to the strengths of such a claim for each club?

That was the exercise du jour of Sam Vecenie, the host of the Athletic’s “Game Theory” podcast in a recent conversation with guest Andrew Schlecht.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what the pair had to say about how these five contenders stack up.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Who are the real contenders for the 2023 NBA Championship?

And more importantly, are the Boston Celtics among them?

With some late-season slippage starting to get fans of the Boston Celtics worried about whether their favorite ball club is actually a contender for the 2022-23 NBA title, a survey of the other teams that might be in the mix could be not only informative but calming given the hiccups taking place around the league as the end of the stretch run comes into sight.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers have solid cases in the Eastern Conference, and out in the West, it could be easier to list teams NOT likely to contend for the championship with the standings close, but the Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, and Sacramento Kings all finishing 202223 strong.

But who among them are the real contenders? The folks behind the “Athletic NBA Show” have some strong opinions on the matter.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they are.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Who is more under pressure to win a title this season: the Boston Celtics or the Bruins?

With excellence comes expectations, and the weight of such expectations can be a bit heavy at times.

While the citizens of New England are more accustomed to the region’s pro sports titles being won by the NFL’s New England Patriots or MLB’s Boston Red Sox, lately the Boston Celtics and the NHL’s Bruins have appeared in better position to win it all in their respective leagues.

But with excellence comes expectations, and the weight of such expectations can be a bit heavy. When it comes to Boston’s two title hopefuls, who is under more pressure to win a title this season: the Celtics or the Bruins?

Recently, Phil Perry and Marc Bertrand joined Trenni Casey on Arbella Early Edition to talk it over.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Are the Phoenix Suns or Boston Celtics more likely to win the 2023 NBA title?

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins debate.

Who are the most prominent NBA analysts picking to win the 2023 NBA championship as we head into the stretch run?

Some clubs have had the shine come off their cases, such as the Western Conference Golden State Warriors and New Orleans Pelicans. Others in the Eastern Conference, such as the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat, have not been able to put everything together.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins recently voiced their opinions on the matter and landed on the Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics for their picks to win it all in the 2023 finals.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear their arguments for each, and decide which of the pair you think makes the better case for the team that will be hanging a banner by the end of the postseason.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Why the Boston Celtics are the 2023 NBA title favorites

Nearly half of the Association could conceivably be seen as at least a fringe title contender.

In the wake of changes made by the NBA to help level competitive balance, ranging from the play-in games to draft lottery reform, there have not been this many teams in the mix to win an NBA championship at this point of the season in the recent history of the league.

Nearly half of the Association could conceivably be seen as at least a fringe title contender according to the host of the Athletic “Game Theory” podcast Sam Vecenie and his guest Kane Pittman of the “Locked On Bucks” pod — a total of 13 ball clubs! But the Boston Celtics are far and away their title favorites.

We will not share their reasoning here though. You will have to watch the clip we have embedded below to hear what Pittman and Vecenie had to say about the Celtics as 2023 NBA title favorites.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Among NBA’s best teams, ESPN grades Boston Celtics a top-shelf contender

When it comes to contenders for the 2023 NBA title, the Boston Celtics are in rarified air.

When it comes to contenders for the 2023 NBA title, the Boston Celtics are in rarified air per ESPN’s Kirk Goldsberry, who rates the Celtics a top-shelf contender along with the Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns.

“According to all the key indicators, the Celtics have been the NBA’s best regular-season team for the past year,” writes Goldsberry. “This season, they lead the league in net rating because they pair the league’s third-most efficient offense with its fourth-most efficient defense.

“The team has continued to thrive under first-year coach Joe Mazzulla, but one thing to watch in this season’s playoffs will be the club’s increased reliance on 3-point shooting and the performance variance that habit invites.”

“Boston’s trip to the finals last season was no fluke, but it was also aided by an untimely injury to Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton, who missed the entirety of their epic second-round series,” Goldsberry reminds us.

Below the top-shelf contenders, the ESPN analyst places the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers, Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors.

Among those Goldsberry considers long shots are the Sacramento Kings, Miami Heat, and — as the longest shot — the Los Angeles Lakers.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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