There are just about two weeks left in the 2024/25 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season, but the play-off picture is still very foggy, for the most part, with a large number of teams vying for the highly coveted post-season spots. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Cleveland Cavaliers and defending champion Boston Celtics have already booked their tickets, but the play-off hopefuls are still scrapping for the other available placings. The top six teams from each conference will be assured of play-off spots, while teams seeded from seven to 10 will duel in the Play-In Tournament (April 15-18). Two teams will emerge from that tournament in each conference and will then fill out the eight-team play-off field, with the first round of the play-offs starting April 19.

In the last couple of weeks, the Thunder have climbed past the Cavaliers for the best record in the league and have clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, for the second-straight year. This is the sixth time in franchise history (dating back to the Seattle SuperSonics era) and the third time in Oklahoma City, that they have entered the post-season at the top of the western podium, but the first in consecutive seasons. They were eliminated in the Western Conference semi-finals last year by the Dallas Mavericks, who eventually reached the NBA Finals, where they lost to Boston.

The Thunder have been very consistent all season, led by the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and while their results have been impressive against the talent in their own conference, their 24-1 record against Eastern Conference teams is most imposing. Their only loss coming against Cleveland, which they avenged eight day later. Without question, the West is certainly stronger than the East, from top to bottom, but the teams at the top of the Eastern Conference are among the best in the league and the Thunder have made them look second-best.

In the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers have a long-established lead over the Celtics for the top seed. Cleveland — the first team to clinch a play-off spot this season — and Boston are the only teams in the East who have officially booked play-off spots, but the Cavaliers are on pace to secure the No 1 seed for the first time since their title-winning season in 2015/16, led by LeBron James. Cleveland’s history-making year has been highlighted by two separate winning streaks of at least 15 games, including a franchise-best 16 straight wins, which led them to the fifth-best start in NBA history. However, right after beating the Memphis Grizzlies on March 14 for their 16th win in a row, they lost four straight to slip behind the Thunder in the NBA’s most-wins column.

The Cavaliers entered the play-offs last season as the No 4 seed and needed seven games to dispatch the Orlando Magic in the first round. They were then eliminated by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in five games, with ace shooting guard Donovan Mitchell unavailable for most of that series. They have been the best team in the league for most of the season but their recent skid, especially against teams they were expected to beat, is cause for concern, plus the health of Mitchell is a big question sign leading up to the playoffs. It is left to be seen how the post-season will play out for them.

The only other play-off clinching team so far, the 2024 champion Celtics, are seeking their NBA- best 19th championship title. They will likely finish as the No 2 seed behind the Cavaliers, but Boston has now made the play-offs for 11 consecutive seasons (the league’s longest active streak), and they have reached (at least) the conference finals in four of the past five years. They shouldn’t have too many worries entering the post-season, but star forward Jayson Tatum suffered an ankle injury on Monday, in a win over the Sacramento Kings, and may miss a few games to close the regular season. It is reportedly not a serious injury, and the six-time All-Star should be good to go by the time the play-offs begin.

Outside of the three play-off clinchers, the New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons in the East, along with the Houston Rockets in the West, have all clinched at least a spot in the Play-In Tournament. The Knicks made it to three of the last four post-seasons, after missing the mark for seven straight years. They lost to the Pacers in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last year and have bolstered their unit with the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns, but they have been without guard Jalen Brunson for the past few weeks and if he is unavailable for the play-offs, they have little hope of making it past the first round.

The Bucks will look to avoid another early exit from the play-offs, after two consecutive first-round losses, but the health of point guard Damian Lillard is questionable for the rest of the season, after being diagnosed with a blood clot in his right calf on Tuesday. A deep run into the play-offs is probable, but it will be a difficult trek without Lillard, even with Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo still playing at an MVP level. As for the Pacers, who made it to the conference finals last year, they are back in the play-offs this season. They have one of the easier schedules remaining in the East and should hold on to at least the top six seed all the way to the end of the regular season. They could be the dark horse in the East, and it wouldn’t surprise if they enjoyed a deep play-off run.

The Pistons finished with a 14-68 record last season, the worst in franchise history, and last qualified for the play-offs in 2019 as the No 8 seed, after a 41-41 record, where they were swept in four games by the Bucks in the first round. They should better the 41-win mark this season but have a difficult schedule ahead and not much is expected after the regular season concludes. In stark contrast, the only team in the West, apart from Oklahoma City, who are presently sure of playing past April 13 are the Rockets, who are on the verge of reaching the play-offs for the first time since 2020. They are the only team in the league (so far) that can boast to have defeated the three best teams in the NBA — The Thunder, Cavaliers and Celtics. It’s been a turnaround season for the Rockets, having qualified twice for the play-offs in the last 15 years and winning more games in this term than they ever did in that time span. Their last play-off win came in the 2007/08 season but are now on target for the second seed in the conference, which would see them facing the seventh seed in the first round. They could be dangerous if they get going in the play-offs.

The 11 seedings from second to 12th in both conferences are closely packed and any skid between here and the end of the regular season could spell disaster. There is very little room for error — except for the Thunder, Cavaliers and Celtics — and any number can play during the next two weeks. Even the Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz, who have already been eliminated from play-off contention, can have a say in what happens when the dust settles.

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NBS 2024/25 Winner

Team Odds

Oklahoma City Thunder 2.60

Boston Celtics 3.05

Cleveland Cavaliers 6.20

Denver Nuggets 17.00

Los Angeles Lakers 17.00

Golden State Warriors 18.00

New York Knicks 29.00

Minnesota Timberwolves 60.00

Los Angeles Clippers 70.00

Memphis Grizzlies 80.00

*Only Top 10 odds shown (see website for full list)

Note: Odds are subject to change