Celtics Dominant Record Against Other Elite Teams Should Scare NBA

Matt Levine | Feb 21, 2025

Peter Casey-Imagn Images

The Boston Celtics are one of the best teams in the NBA this season despite having a mini-slump during the middle part of the year. Boston has maintained a nice level of consistency and it has shown in their abilities on the court.

While Boston isn't in first place within the Eastern Conference standings, they are still the favorites to win the conference. The Celtics have been dominant against the other elite teams in the East, going 14-4 over the other seven teams that round out the top eight of the conference.

Boston is 2-1 over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 3-0 against the Milwaukee Bucks, 2-0 against the New York Knicks, 1-2 against the Indiana Pacers, 3-0 against the Detroit Pistons, 2-0 against the Miami Heat, and 1-1 against the Orlando Magic.

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The Celtics are still the defending champions so the East will have to go through them again this year. Even if they aren't able to catch the Cavaliers in the standings, Boston will feel very confident that they can win a series against them.

So far the team to give them the most trouble has been the Pacers. Indiana is the only team with a winning record against Boston from this group and they will want redemption for the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago.

Boston swept the Pacers in the series so Indiana will be out for some revenge. But if the two were to match up in the postseason again, most people would favor Boston to advance once again.

As for the Western Conference, Boston has gone 0-1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, 1-0 against the Denver Nuggets, 0-1 against the Memphis Grizzlies, 1-1 against the Houston Rockets, and 0-1 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston has a smaller sample size against the top-five teams in the West but they haven't had the same success. But with the star power and pure depth that the Celtics have, they should be seen as one of the favorites to win it all this season.

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For all the latest news and notes on the reigning champs, stay tuned to Celtics On SI.