Will Celtics repeat as champs? Simulating the 2024-25 NBA season originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics cruised to their 18th NBA title with a historic regular season and a dominant playoff run. Our partners at Strat-O-Matic predicted it all.
Strat-O-Matic’s simulation for the 2023-24 season nailed the Celtics’ 64-18 record and correctly picked Boston to win the championship. So with the 2024-25 schedule being released on Wednesday, we reached out to see what we should expect on the Celtics’ quest for a repeat.
Will their “run it back” approach result in their second straight championship, or will Banner 19 have to wait? Below are Strat-O-Matic’s predictions for the regular-season standings, the full postseason bracket, and more.
Another dominant regular season
The reigning champs pick up where they left off and produce another 60+ win season.
Strat-O-Matic has the C’s posting a 61-21 record in the 2024-25 campaign to earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the top seed throughout the NBA playoffs. After dropping the season opener vs. the New York Knicks, they rip off 14 wins over their next 15 games to reassert their dominance.
The Celtics begin their 2024 Emirates NBA Cup (formerly known as the In-Season Tournament) run with wins over all four of their East Group C opponents: the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, and Chicago Bulls. They defeat the Philadelphia 76ers in the quarterfinal but fall to the Knicks in the semifinals.
Boston takes down Philly again in their Christmas Day showdown and ends up sweeping the season series against its East rival. Its NBA Finals rematches vs. the Dallas Mavericks don’t go as well, however, as the Mavs win both of those showdowns.
The simulated Celtics season is highlighted by a 15-game win streak from mid-February through mid-March. They also enter the postseason red-hot with nine wins over their final 10 games.
No surprises in the East
Strat-O-Matic doesn’t foresee any shocking developments in the Eastern Conference. The usual suspects top the final standings.
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The Celtics finish eight games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia 76ers, who added Paul George to their lineup during the offseason. The New York Knicks — with Mikal Bridges now in the mix — place third with a 50-32 record.
The Milwaukee Bucks, Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, and Indiana Pacers round out the top eight teams in the conference. If Strat-O-Matic’s predictions are accurate, the East playoff field will be identical to last year’s.
The best in the West
The up-and-coming Oklahoma City Thunder finish with the best record in the West at 55-27. The Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Memphis Grizzlies tie for the second-best record in the conference at 49-33.
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The Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets slip to the No. 5 seed in the conference with a 48-34 record. The reigning Western Conference champion Mavs earn the No. 6 seed, followed by the Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers.
The biggest surprise here is the Grizzlies bouncing back after a 27-win season. Stat-O-Matic thinks highly of Memphis with a healthy Ja Morant alongside ex-Celtic Marcus Smart.
Early playoff exit
C’s fans will hope this season’s Strat-O-Matic simulation is less accurate than last year’s.
Unlike the 2023-24 simulation, which predicted Boston cruising to Banner 18, this one has the Celtics falling in the Eastern Conference semifinals. After defeating the Indiana Pacers in five games in Round 1, the C’s lose to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The Knicks defeat the Bucks in five games to advance to the 2025 NBA Finals, where they meet the Thunder. OKC, which tops Sacramento in seven games in the Western Conference Finals, beats New York in another seven-game series for its first-ever NBA title.
