NBA Playoffs: 3 Contenders with easiest path to winning the 2024 NBA Championship

Boston Celtics

There's an argument to be made that any matchup that the Boston Celtics drew in the first round would be the start of an easy path to the NBA Finals. That's how dominant this team has been this season. To put this into perspective, the Celtics went a combined 6-1 against both the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers in the regular season. The lone loss to the Sixers came in overtime.

In short, the Celtics aren't going to be afraid of the Heat or Sixers in a first-round playoff series, if one of those teams ends up being the matchup. After that, the Celtics would take on the winner of the 4-5 matchup that features the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic. Boston would be heavy favorites over either of those two teams as well. Taking it a step further, the Celtics are likely going to see an undermanned New York Knicks team or an underwhelming Milwaukee Bucks team in the Eastern Conference Finals. If the Celtics can remain healthy, it's hard to envision any of those teams beating Boston four times in seven tries.

The NBA Finals is where the Celtics might get truly tested, especially if it's the Denver Nuggets that end up in that matchup. Adding intrigue to that potential NBA Finals matchup, the Celtics went 0-2 this season against the Nuggets. But even seeing the Nuggets in the NBA Finals is far from a guarantee.

It's easy to see why the historically good Celtics may have one of the easiest paths to winning the 2024 NBA Championship.