3 Lessons Celtics must learn from Nuggets' failed title defense

2. The regular season matters

The Boston Celtics were dominant for the entire season last year—regular season and playoffs. They went 64-18 in the regular season and 16-3 in the postseason, adding up to an impressive 80-21 record.

As a reward for their regular-season dominance, they got the one seed in the Eastern Conference. It gave them a chance to play the injured Miami Heat in the first round.

More importantly, they avoided having to play the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and New York Knicks in the playoffs—the three teams widely viewed as the Celtics’ biggest threats in the conference.

Obviously, the Celtics got lucky with injuries, as Jimmy Butler, Donovan Mitchell, and Tyrese Haliburton all missed time during the playoffs, but Boston earned the right to play lesser teams by getting the one seed in the East.

As for the Nuggets, they were in a battle with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Oklahoma City Thunder for the one seed out West all year. And in the end, they had the same record as OKC but got the second seed.

Because of that, they had to play the Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs, leading to their eventual demise. Minnesota beat them in a seven-game series.

Had the Nuggets won just one more game in the regular season, they would have been the one seed in the West, they wouldn’t have played the Timberwolves in the second round, and their path to the Finals would have been easier.