- NBA. Ex-NBA star reveals why playing for the Boston Celtics is so special
- NBA. Kevin Garnett hits out at Jeff Bezos after Amazon owners pull out of race to buy Boston Celtics
The head coach of the Boston Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, warned his team there will be a target on their backs in the season following their triumphant victory in the 2024 NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Celtics comfortably beat Luka Doncic's team 4-1 through June 6-17 to take the 18th championship of their franchise history as Jaylen Brown starred by becoming Finals MVP, but according to Mazzulla they shouldn't expect that to be the case in 2024/25.
"People are gonna say the target is on our back," Mazzulla told Locked on Celtics. "But I hope it's right on our forehead, in between our eyes.
"I hope I can see the red dot."
The Celtics dominated the playoffs with a 16-3 postseason record following an exceptional regular season that saw them finish with a .780 record and 64 wins, 14 clear of the second-best Eastern Conference record from the New York Knicks.
Worryingly for the NBA, they have also managed to strengthen their line up by locking Jayson Tatum down to a five-year $315 million contract and Derrick White to a four-year $126m deal to ensure two key parts of their team stays together for years to come.
They also have Brown, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford to turn to as they bid to manage without Kristaps Porzingis (center), who will miss the opening part of the season as he bids to recover from a leg injury from the NBA Finals.
There are a series of teams that will bid to stop them in 2024/25 but namely challenges will come from the Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves.
When does the Boston Celtics' season start?
The Boston Celtics will face preseason challenges from the Nuggets (twice), Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors (twice) before they kick off the defense of their NBA championship on opening night.
They will face the Eastern Conference runners-up, the Knicks, on Tuesday, October 22 at the TD Garden in Massachusetts with tip-off expected at 19:30 ET/16:30 PT. The game will be broadcast via TNT Sports.