Here's how to watch the Celtics, top storylines and award favorites

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the NBA season.

The Celtics will be back on NBC Sports Boston for a majority of their games this season, but the broadcasts will sound a little different with the retirement of longtime play-by-play announcer Mike Gorman. Drew Carter takes over alongside former Celtic Brian Scalabrine.

As the defending champions and one of the league's biggest brands, Boston will have numerous nationally televised appearances – 26 to be exact, followed by LeBron James and the Lakers, who will play 27 nationally televised games.

Many of the Celtics' nationally televised games will continue to be simulcast on NBC Sports Boston, but Tuesday's opener is a TNT exclusive.

Are the reloaded Knicks the biggest threat to the Celtics in the East?

No team really gave the Celtics any problems in the Eastern Conference playoffs, with the Heat, Cavaliers and Pacers combining to win just two games in three best-of-seven sets. Thanks in part to serious injuries in the conference, Boston was able to avoid matchups with the Bucks, 76ers and Knicks, who had slightly more star power than the teams the Celtics brushed aside.

These teams will be on target this season, and it was New York that made the biggest offseason move with a blockbuster trade for All-Star star Karl-Anthony Towns. He will add a new dimension of outside shooting to the often-frustrating Julius Randle, and the combination of Towns, All-NBA guard Jalen Brunson, elite defensive wing Mikal Bridges and a Knicks roster full of guts and depth could be the biggest concern the Celtics are in the playoffs.

But it's not just New York that Boston has to worry about. The 76ers added perennial All-Star Paul George alongside former MVP Joel Embiid and rising star Tyrese Maxey, and the Bucks' pairing of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard is as good as it gets. The Celtics are favorites again, but it won't be easy.

Who comes from a loaded Western Conference?

The West endured a bloodbath last spring as rising superstar Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves defeated Kevin Durant and the Suns before defeating three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Nuggets, only to be eliminated themselves by an outstanding Luka Doncic and the Suns to become outsiders.

Dallas did it by upsetting the top-seeded Thunder, who enter the 2024-25 season as potential favorites to advance to the Finals with their combination of young talent, depth and team synergy. But there is so much star power in the West that the conference looks, as always, unpredictable. What could be more fun?

Can a disappointing draft class exceed expectations?

The 2024 NBA Draft was held with less fanfare and hype than it has been in a long time, as the class was considered quite thin in terms of top talent. But similarly disappointing draft classes have managed to produce special talents; The much-maligned class of 2013, led by all-time scoring leader Anthony Bennett, also boasts future Hall of Famers Antetokounmpo and Rudy Gobert.

It's always worth keeping an eye on the rookies, whether they come with excessive hype or not.

Which teams are ready to take the plunge?

There are always changes in the NBA hierarchy as a team converts talent and potential into wins and postseason contention. The young Thunder managed to clinch the West's top seed last year, the Kings managed to clinch their first playoff berth since 2006 the year before, and so on.

Who could surprise the league this season? The most exciting candidate is the Spurs. French phenom Victor Wembanyama enters his second season with a new vice president – Chris Paul – who could take one of the most exciting young players in recent memory to new levels.

Other teams to watch: Oklahoma City, which could reach another level after a breakout 2023-24; the Magic, who won 47 games last season and whose three leading scorers were all 22 years old or younger; and the Grizzlies, who just couldn't catch a break in 2023-24 but could return to the playoffs with a healthy Ja Morant leading the show.

Will the Celtics be champions again?

The Celtics haven't played consecutive games since Bill Russell took over as player-coach. The vaunted 2008 team didn't make it, and neither did Larry Bird and company. in the 1980s.

Boston is the favorite as the season ends Tuesday night, but it will be a long road until another duck boat parade in June.

Although there are no major changes, the NBA has opted to expand its instant replay procedures to allow fouls to be called when reviewing out-of-bounds calls.

According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, who reported the news in September, “Under the new rules, immediately replaying a play off the court can cover whether the play should have resulted in a foul, which the NBA pointed out in its announcement.” a play in which Kyrie Irving fouled Jaden McDaniels but Dallas got the ball. Now a foul would be called instead.”

2024-25 NBA Championship Odds

Celtics (+310)

Thunder (+650)

Knicks (+800)

Nuggets (+950)

Timberwolves (+1000)

76s (+1000)

Outsiders (+1000)

Dollars (+1400)

Odds to win the 2024-25 NBA MVP

Luka Doncic, Mavericks (+370)

Nikola Jokic, Nuggets (+400)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (+425)

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (+800)

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves (+1200)

Jayson Tatum, Celtics (+1500)

Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (+1700)

Jalen Brunson, Knicks (+1800)

The odds to win the 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Victor Wembanyama, Spurs (-175)

Chet Holmgren, Thunder (+1200)

Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (+1400)

Bam Adebayo, Heat (+1400)

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers (+1600)

Anthony Davis, Lakers (+1800)

---

Amin Touri can be reached at [email protected].