The Nerds LOVE The Celtics This Season So Who Am I To Argue

Jesse D. Garrabrant. Getty Images.

So 538 just put out their season predictions/projects for the 2020-21 season which you can find here, but this is a quick snapshot

Live look at the haters and losers of which there are many

If you ignore the fact that I think 538 is wrong about absolutely everything they predict at all times, now that they are telling me the Celts are going to be awesome and come out of the East I've never seen something more accurate in my life. Smartest guys ever if you ask me. Granted I have no idea what calculations or formulas go into these types of predictions and frankly I don't really care. No chance my idiot brain would understand it anyway. I just know what the results say and they LOVE the 2020-21 Boston Celtics.

Now, I can't confirm if they watched the Celts performance the other night in their preseason opener or if that factored at all into this data, but if so then I feel even better. Mostly because the Celts looked like a gigantic pile of dogshit on Tuesday. I'm sure there will be people out there that can poke holes in this extremely scientific and never wrong prediction, but I sure won't. I learned a long time ago that you listen to people smarter than you. I mean, it is a little weird that the Nets are nowhere to be found, but again who am I to argue with the data? The Sixers have a better chance at the Finals than the Bucks? OK that made me laugh but hey that's how things shake out I guess.

I can see that these results rely on a team being "full strength" which is a little bit of a concern considering half of the Celtics roster is already hurt. We have guys pulling hamstrings that could miss time after like one half speed practice. Kemba's knee hasn't gotten better after about 15 years of rest. The idea that the Celts will be at "full strength" for the majority of the season is almost less believable than any other part of that picture.

I thought maybe these results were just because of the RAPTOR formula or whatever the hell that is, but then I clicked the Elo forecast option, whatever the hell that is, and once again I came away happy

NBA title favorites? Sign me up! Are we sure I didn't make these formulas? Because listen, even though I keep myself alive on Celtics Kool Aid, they should not be considered title favorites right now over the Lakers and I don't care what formula or requirement you use. But I'm also someone who is a slave to the data. In that regard my hands are kind of tied. I'm trying to remain logical here, but if the nerds are telling me the opposite well then I can't be responsible for where my brain goes. It's not like they weren't knocking on the doors to the Finals last year. Crazier shit has happened.

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So there you have it. After their game the other night there are a whoooooole lot of people talking about the Celts being a 6-7 seed. That's fine, but unfortunately you will not be allowed on the bandwagon. As you can see, this team is poised to make the Finals this year. Sure it's very likely this is something people will point back to and laugh and that will be unfortunate, but for now based on what we know the Celts are going to have a great year. LFG.