The Boston Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 9-1 after Wednesday night's win over the Washington Wizards, and if history is any indication, the C's hot start is a good omen for their playoff hopes next spring.
The Celtics have won nine of their first 10 games for the first time since 2007-08, and we all know what happened that season. In fact, the C's had won nine or all of their first 10 games of a season five times before the current 2019-20 campaign, and in three of those seasons they advanced to the NBA Finals.
Here's a breakdown:
1972-73: 10-0, lost to New York Knicks in ECF
2019-20: 9-1, playoff result TBD
2007-08: 9-1, beat Los Angeles Lakers in NBA Finals
1984-85: 9-1, lost to Los Angeles Lakers in NBA Finals
1983-84: 9-1, beat Los Angeles Lakers in NBA Finals
1981-82: 9-1, lost to Philadelphia 76ers in ECF
For what it's worth, both 2019 NBA Finals participants (Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors) started 9-1 last season.
You'll notice a couple Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals matchups in the list above, and while it's still very early in the season, could we be headed for another championship series between these historic rivals? Check out this stat:
The Celtics' schedule is about to get tougher. They start a five-game road trip Friday night against the Golden State Warriors, and the last three teams on the trip -- the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets -- all have winning records. If the Celtics are able to go 3-2 or 4-1 on this road trip, it definitely will be time to rank them among the early title contenders.
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Boston Celtics
Don’t miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Warriors, which tips off Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Mike & Scal have the call of the game at 10:30 p.m. You can also stream the game through the MyTeams App.