3. Celtics/Nuggets Match-up on March 2 Will Be NBA Finals Preview
At the beginning of March, this specific Celtics match-up could happen again in June for the 2025 NBA Finals.
The Celtics, moving to 42-17 with a loss to the Pistons on Wednesday night, will close out February with a game against the East-leading Cavaliers.
The Denver Nuggets sit at 38-20 and third in the Western Conference. Like the Celtics, Denver has been playing exceptional basketball recently, winning nine of their last ten games.
The Celtics-Nuggets Finals matchup is one that could have happened in 2023 had Boston not lost in Game 7 of the ECF to the Heat on home court.
Nikola Jokic is considered to many as the best player in the league for good reason, winning 3 MVPs in the past 4 years and could be on track for his 4th this season.
This Finals matchup would feature two well-coached teams with stars across the board. Assuming Boston and Denver are both healthy come playoff time, it would be hard for any playoff team to beat them 4 out of 7 times.
To appear in back-to-back NBA Finals, the Celtics will also have to get through East contenders like the Cavaliers, Knicks, Bucks and Pacers.
For the Nuggets, the West sees more teams that could pose a threat. The Thunder, Lakers and Warriors are peaking at the right time after the trade deadline, and young teams like the Grizzlies and Rockets won't be an easy out in the playoffs.
Getting to the Finals is not easy, but if there are two players in today's NBA that I would want leading my team into a seven-game series, they're Jayson Tatum and Nikola Jokic.
The March 2nd game at TD Garden could be foreshadowing a match-up we see 3 months later.
In their first meeting of the season on January 7th, the Celtics walked away with a 12-point win in Denver as Nikola Jokic did not play.
The Celtics remain favorites to win back-to-back titles at +170 on Fanduel Sportsbook. The Denver Nuggets have the 4th-best odds to win at +1300. A Boston/Denver matchup has the 3rd-best odds at +850, behind Celtics/Thunder and Cavaliers/Thunder.