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How many wins do you think the Celtics will win this year? Nobody can really know, but it is fun to guess.
You know who likes to guess at things like this? Gamblers. Now, I don't gamble, so forgive me if I misrepresent anything here. But the way I understand it, one of the things Vegas does is post lines on over/under. They pick a number and people can bet that a team will go over or under that win total for the season. The numbers are usually pretty close to what the "experts" predict, but sometimes betting behavior can shift the numbers one way or another (so the books can maximize their profits - remember kids, the only one really winning is the dealers).
According to CBS Sports, 4 of the major sports books agree on the Celtics number and they all put it at 26.5 wins. So what do you think? Will the Celtics hit the "over" and get at least 27 wins? Or will they go "under" and have 26 wins or fewer?
The biggest potential swing could involve Rajon Rondo. How soon can he come back from his broken hand? Will he be traded? Does he have enough help around him to increase the win totals from last year?
The Celtics had 25 wins last season. I think they had a few more wins than I was expecting early in the year (before Rondo returned) and perhaps a few fewer wins down the stretch than I was expecting (when Rondo returned). So I guess it is a good enough starting place. You'd think that if Rondo can play more than 60 games this year at mostly full speed, then they should hit the over rather easily.
Regardless, there's also the unknown of how quickly Brad Stevens can coach up this young squad. Can they learn on the job faster than expected? Can they withstand a rough early season schedule and catch a few teams by surprise? Or will they suffer from too much inexperience? Will nagging injuries lag on and derail momentum? Will a trade shake up the roster for good or for bad? All these are variables that we can't predict (but it is fun to try).
So just for fun, what do you think? Will the Celtics be over or under?