The Philadelphia 7ers recently signed Paul George to a four-year, $212 million maximum contract. The former Clipper will now join Joel Embiid, forming another super team in the Eastern Conference. However, Bobby Marks doesn’t believe they will give much pushback to the current NBA champions, the Boston Celtics. During a recent appearance on Get Up, Marks said that the Celtics will remain the biggest and most dominant team in the East.
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Obviously, the Celtics are the league’s bullies. They thrashed almost every team last season, ended their regular season as the only team with over 60 wins, and ended up winning the NBA title. But, like every story, the league also needs redemption. Some strong teams are in contention to give them a tough fight in the Eastern Conference.
However, according to the ESPN analyst, their efforts aren’t going to produce any results, at least for the next few years. When asked if, with the addition of PG-13, the 76ers are good enough to take on the Celtics, he said, “No. They’re not.”
Marks dismissed the Knicks’ chances of creating something special in the next season as well. He said, “I think Boston is on an island by themselves right now.”
"I think Boston is on an island by themselves right now."@BobbyMarks42 can see the Celtics running the East for the next couple of years 👀 pic.twitter.com/oNlOmrejmp
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) July 5, 2024
As per Marks’ assessment, “the window to overtake Boston is going to be 2025-26.” Even in that scenario, he believes that the situation to break the Celtics will only occur due to their financial problems. While the analyst believes that the Celtics will probably go back-to-back with the NBA title, someone who knows a thing or two about going back-to-back disagrees.
Shaquille O’Neal dismisses the Celtics’ chances next year
On a recent episode of The Big Podcast, Shaquille O’Neal talked about the speculations about the Celtics repeating this year’s triumph. The big fella was unsure about the Celtics’ shot at back-to-back championships. His prediction stems from the fact that they got lucky this year because many teams were struggling with injuries but it won’t be the case next season.
“No [Boston isn’t poised to repeat], because even though they have the championship… Boston had it easy. It’s not their fault, I don’t care, they won…Their rod was too easy. So, when their road stiffens up, and they don’t win, then that statement will be verified. If they win next year, with all these teams healthy, got to give them their respect.”
This has been a criticism for the Celtics win this year. The 16-year wait for the title has come with constant criticism. But if they do it again, there won’t be much scope to deny their dominance.
