Copyright The Boston Globe
Celtics: 44-38, eighth seed in the East. Eastern Conference: Cavaliers over Magic in five. Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers gain redemption after their second-round throttling by the Pacers following a 64-win regular season. Western Conference: Thunder over Nuggets in seven. The defending champs are young and stacked with talent, but the Nuggets — with Cam Johnson fitting better than Michael Porter Jr. ever did — push Shai and Co. to the limit. NBA Finals: Thunder over Cavaliers in four. The NBA salary-cap structure is designed in part to prevent dynasties, as the Celtics found out the hard way. But nothing but an array of injuries can stop the Thunder from rolling. Celtics: 49-33, fourth in the East. Eastern Conference: Cavaliers over Magic in six. Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers take advantage of the injury-pockmarked landscape of the Eastern Conference to complete their post-LeBron James renaissance. The high-scoring Cavaliers return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2018, the last of their four straight Finals appearances under LeBron 2.0. Western Conference: Thunder over Nuggets in seven. Despite all the offseason chess moves and headlines from their competitors, Concord’s Sam Presti, the best general manager in the NBA, and Leominster’s Mark Daigneault, one of the league’s savviest coaches, conquer the survival-of-the-fittest West once again with reigning league MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. NBA Finals: Thunder over Cavaliers in seven. Oklahoma City cements a modern-definition dynasty by becoming the first team since the Warriors in 2017-18 to win back-to-back NBA championships. The scary part is how young the Thunder are. The oldest member of their Big Three of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren is SGA. He’s four months younger than Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum. Celtics: 43-39, sixth in the East. Eastern Conference: Cavaliers over Knicks in six. If not for injuries, the guess here is that the 64-win Cavaliers would have won the Eastern Conference a year ago. Now they return their entire young core and will be focused on playoff health more than regular-season dominance. Western Conference: Thunder over Rockets in five. The West should be ridiculously competitive, with six teams having a legitimate chance to reach the conference finals. The addition of Kevin Durant pushes Houston toward the top, but not quite over it. NBA Finals: Thunder over Cavaliers in five. I picked the Celtics to top the Thunder in the Finals last year, in large part because Oklahoma City lacked championship experience. But now the Thunder have all of it, and they could be even more dominant this season as they become the first team to repeat as champions since the Warriors in 2017-18. Celtics: 40-42, play-in-tournament. Eastern Conference: Knicks over Cavaliers in six. Survival of the Neediest in Worst Conference Ever. Strap yourselves in. This will be eight months of “Can they win without Thibs?” and “Is KAT softer than Dairy Queen?” Western Conference: Nuggets over top-seeded Thunder in seven. NBA America still doesn’t know most of the Thunder stars’ names. Laker LeBron, now 81 years old, should be playing for the AARP Clippers. NBA Finals: Nuggets over Knicks in seven. Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic gets his second ring, denying the Knicks, who won their last NBA crown in 1973. Celtics: 45-37, sixth in the East. Eastern Conference: Cavaliers over Magic in six. The Cavaliers finally stay healthy at season’s end and eke through a tough series with the rising Magic. Donovan Mitchell makes a case for MVP with a brilliant series. It’s about time for Cleveland, which had been seeking significance since the departure of LeBron James. Western Conference: Nuggets over Rockets in six. The Nuggets return to the Finals after unseating the Thunder and then the upstart Rockets behind Nikola Jokic and Boston native Bruce Brown. Denver’s plan to rebuild around three-time MVP Jokic works with the addition of Cameron Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas. NBA Finals: Cavaliers over Nuggets in seven. The Cavaliers finally escape the shadow of LeBron James, harness all the talent they’ve acquired in recent years, and the coaching of Kenny Atkinson to get back to the top. Mitchell is the series MVP, while Evan Mobley takes that step forward as a dominant defensive center and scorer to give Cleveland its second professional sports title in 61 years.
