Boston Celtics Now Championship Favorites After Porzingis Trade – originally posted on Sportslens.com
The Boston Celtics were the focal point of a blockbuster trade in the NBA on Wednesday, as they were able to acquire Kristaps Porzingis from the Washington Wizards.
Celtics Now Tied With Nuggets For Shortest Title Odds
FINAL TRADE DETAILS:
Celtics receive: Kristaps Porziņģis, 2023 & 2024 first-round pick
Grizzlies receive: Marcus Smart
Wizards receive: Tyus Jones, 2023 second-round pick pic.twitter.com/d4nW7tjlhH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 22, 2023
The Celtics roster needed some tweaking. They entered the 2022-23 season with high aspirations, having come up just short in the Finals the year before. They finished the regular season with the second-best record in the NBA, and had the second-shortest championship odds entering the playoffs.
But things didn’t quite pan out. Despite their path becoming easier when the Milwaukee Bucks lost in the first round, the Celtics still came up short. It was nearly a disastrous finish, as they were down 3-0 to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. They were able to come storming back to force a Game 7, a mini-run that may have saved the futures of a handful of players and coaches.
A change was needed. Boston still has one of the most talented rosters in the NBA, and are certainly in a position to make another run at a title. They have been the rumored destination of a few available players around the league, and they went out and made a big move on Wednesday evening.
In a three-team trade, the Celtics acquired Kristaps Porzingis and some draft capital. Boston was forced to send away Marcus Smart in the deal, as well as Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. The Grizzlies are the team that landed Smart, and the Wizards received Tyus Jones.
Boston Not Done Making Moves
“I go out there and leave everything I have on the floor.”
Nobody hustles harder than @smart_MS3
pic.twitter.com/5zy629nj9E
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) June 21, 2023
Does it move the needle as far as the Celtics’ championship hopes? According to the oddsmakers, it does.
The Celtics were already listed as one of the favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship, coming in behind the Denver Nuggets and roughly on par with the Milwaukee Bucks. But the line has shifted after the trade, and some sports books have Boston as the team at the top of their board.
According to BetOnline.ag, the Nuggets were alone with their championship odds at +450 while Boston sat at +550. Both of those numbers changed after Wednesday, and both teams now have an equal designation of +475.
During the 2022-23 season, Porzingis played in 60+ games for the first time since 2016-17. He averaged a career-high 23 points, and had the best overall efficiency season of his career.
There is still plenty of off-season left, and reports have said that the Celtics are far from done with making improvements to their roster.
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