Boston Celtics 2023-24 NBA season betting preview: NBA championship odds, win total prediction, playoff odds

Over the past four seasons, there haven’t been many teams more successful than the Boston Celtics.

Boston has made the Eastern Conference Finals three times and the NBA Finals once over that stretch, but the team decided to shake up its roster in a big way this offseason.

Boston moved on from Grant Williams, Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III in trades while adding Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. It’s a massive shakeup, but one that oddsmakers are buying in the futures market.

Following those deals, Boston has moved to the favorite – along with the Milwaukee Bucks – to win the NBA Finals this season.

If you’re looking for more NBA futures, I shared 15 (!!) futures that I’m betting on in the 2023-24 season in the first edition of “Peter’s Points.”

With Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown still entrenched on the wings, Brad Stevens looked for ways to upgrade the rest of the roster in the offseason. He may have succeeded, but only time will truly tell if these moves make the Celtics a better team.

If you’re thinking of betting on Boston in the futures market, DraftKings Sportsbook is the place to do it.

New users that sign up with the link below, deposit and wager $5 will instantly receive $200 in bonus bets. That’s a great deal for the NBA season.

Here’s a full breakdown of Boston in the futures market, including a few bets on the Celtics that I am placing for this season:

Boston Celtics championship odds

The Celtics are the favorites to win the title this season, and it makes sense given how close the team has come to winning the Finals in recent seasons.

If the Holiday and Porzingis moves are upgrades, they could push Boston over the edge.

Boston Celtics key offseason moves

Players added in free agency

• Dalano Banton
• Oshae Brissett
• Wenyen Gabriel
• Svi Mykhailiuk
• Lamar Stevens

Players added in trade market

• Jrue Holiday (from Portland Trail Blazers)
• Kristaps Porzingis (from Washington Wizards)

Players picked in 2023 NBA Draft

• Jordan Walsh (38th overall)

Players lost

• Malcolm Brogdon (traded to Portland Trail Blazers)
• Danilo Gallinari (traded to Washington Wizards)
• Mike Muscala (traded to Washington Wizards)
• Marcus Smart (traded to Memphis Grizzlies)
• Grant Williams (traded to Dallas Mavericks)
• Robert Williams III (traded to Portland Trail Blazers)

Boston Celtics win total prediction for 2023-24 season

Boston has the highest win total projection in the NBA, a sign that oddsmakers expect the team to earn the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Boston Celtics playoff odds

Boston is nearly a lock to make the playoffs, and it would likely take a major injury to Tatum or Brown to push Boston out of a top four spot in the East.

Joe Mazzulla’s club is extremely well balanced on both sides of the ball, so the team should push for one of the better records in the NBA.

Boston Celtics 2023-24 season outlook

I bet Boston to win the title this season, I love how things stack up for them in a top-heavy Eastern Conference.

While losing some depth certainly hurts, players like Holiday and Porzingis are major upgrades offensively over what Boston had before.

The team has two All-NBA caliber players in Brown and Tatum that can carry them, and Boston nearly erased a 3-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. There is 100 percent a path for Boston to win a title given its recent success, but the team is going to need bench players like Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and others to truly take a step forward to win it all.

Boston Celtics players to bet award futures on

Jayson Tatum – MVP

In my season preview column on BetSided, I broke down the case for betting Tatum to win the league’s MVP award for the first time in his career:

Tatum has played in at least 64 games in each season of his NBA career, and I actually think there is a narrative angle that fits him in the East this season.

Sure, Boston has Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, but the Celtics don’t have what Giannis Antetokounmpo has in Milwaukee with Damian Lillard. It may be tougher for Giannis to win the MVP with Dame on his team, but I think it opens the door for Tatum if Boston gets the No. 1 seed in the East.

Tatum is going to put up the MVP-caliber numbers (30.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists per game last season), and Boston is projected to have the best record in the NBA.

The MVP race has been essentially between Giannis-Nikola Jokic-Joel Embiid for three straight seasons, but there is a path for Tatum to break that up.

Jrue Holiday – Sixth Man of the Year

This isn’t available everywhere, but Holiday could be a dark horse to win Sixth Man of the Year. I bet him to win this award at +7500 odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Masslive.com’s Brian Robb shared that ‘s possible that Holiday comes off the bench for Boston.

“It’s a fascinating debate that I’m sure is going on plenty within the Celtics front office and coaches meetings,” Robb wrote. “Logic says that it will be one of Derrick White or Al Horford coming off the bench regularly but I have the sense that Zach Lowe’s inclination that Jrue Holiday as a sixth man is a very real consideration as well.”

If Holiday does come off the bench, he could put up big numbers – similar to Malcolm Brogdon when he won the award last season.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

Find Peter Dewey’s NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp @peter2dewey.