We are just about one week away from the end of the 2024/25 National Basketball Association (NBA) regular season and the playoff picture is not much clearer (particularly in the Western Conference) than it was a week ago. The Cleveland Cavaliers spent most of the season driving fear into every opponent but nosedived into a four-game slump in the middle of March, then recovered to end last month with a showing worthy of their magnificent start to the season, maintaining their lead in the Eastern Conference, albeit very slim, over the defending champion Boston Celtics, who appear to be ending the regular season in a flurry.

However, it is the Oklahoma City Thunder, in a very strong Western Conference, who are the current JustBet favourites and are storming into the playoffs. By mid-March, Oklahoma City had climbed past Cleveland for the best record in the league and clinched the top seed in the Western Conference for the second straight year. They welcomed the Chicago Bulls into Paycom Center on Monday (March 31) night, with the Bulls on a very hot streak, defeating the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers (twice) over the previous seven days. Unfortunately for Chicago, they ran into an Oklahoma City juggernaut that is not in the habit of taking prisoners this season.

The Thunder knocked off the Bulls 145-117, but the game was not even that close. The lopsided win not only extended their lead over every other team leaguewide and increased their win streak to 10, but it also bettered the mark for the best cross-conference record in NBA history since the league expanded to the East and West playing each other twice a year in an 82-game season (1967). The win resulted in a 28-1 record against the Eastern Conference for Oklahoma City, upping the 2000 Los Angeles Lakers, 2007 Dallas Mavericks, and 2016 Golden State Warriors, who each posted a 27-3 record against the East. Oklahoma City’s only loss was to the East-leading Cavaliers and that loss was avenged eight days after.

The Thunder faced their last eastern team on Wednesday (April 2) and the Detroit Pistons provided a bit of resistance against the thunderstorm, but the first quarter 41-27 lead by Oklahoma City was too much of a deficit to overcome, and the visitors left with a 119-103 loss. The win kept intact their home record against the East (15-0), furthered the cross-conference record to 29-1, and augmented their NBA-best win and home-win marks to 64-12 and 35-5, respectively. The Thunder have six games remaining and, therefore, the 70-win threshold is still within reach, if they win out. This is the only team this season still with a 70-win possibility but, starting tonight, the next four games will pose significant hurdles in the path to reaching that highpoint.

They face the Houston Rockets tonight, who have the third-most wins in March (behind the Thunder and Celtics), then take on the Los Angeles Lakers (twice) before facing off with the Phoenix Suns. The Thunder have a 3-1 record over the Rockets this season, including the last matchup in early March, but Houston went 12-4 last month and is blasting into the playoffs with a positive mindset. They are not expected to hold off a marauding Thunder team, who had a 15-1 record in March, but high calibre basketball is anticipated.

The Lakers have found an injection of adrenaline with the signing of Luka Doncic in mid-February, and particularly a 40-year-old LeBron James, who has apparently found a new lease on life. The Lakers and Thunder have met only once this season, when Oklahoma City won, but that was last November before the Luka factor was introduced. Fireworks are expected over the two games, after which, the matchup against Phoenix should be a little easier, especially with Kevin Durant expected to be out, but the Suns are fighting for their playoff lives and desperation oftentimes brings out the beast.

The Thunder have had a dominant and historic season and are on course to finish with the best record in the entire league. They are also on pace to finish with the best scoring differential in NBA history, a record currently held by the 1972/73 Lakers, 12.28 points. The Thunder currently best their opponents by more than 13 points and need only to outscore their final six opponents by a total of six points to break the Lakers’ 53-year-old NBA scoring differential record.

Led by the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) front-runner, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder will face the eighth seeded team in the West that will emerge from the Play-In Tournament. There are currently eight teams in a packed bunch, from the fourth to the 11th seed, that are potential first-round opponents for the Thunder, namely, the Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix Suns, in that order.

Of these eight teams, the Lakers and Grizzlies will most likely avoid the rigours of the Play-In Tournament and finish in the top six in the West. Beyond those, the other six are very realistic possibilities for Oklahoma City in the first round. The Warriors, Timberwolves and, to a lesser extent, the Clippers would, on paper, be the most challenging matchups, based on talent and playoff experience on the respective rosters, and the best-case, but highly unlikely, scenario would be against the depleted rosters of the Mavericks, Kings or Suns, as they are multiple games below .500 and have struggled significantly this season.

At this point, the Thunder, the team with the youngest combined roster in the NBA, is forging ahead, while still watching from the corner of the eye to see who their opponent will be. They have a few big games to play before the curtains close on the regular season, then play the waiting game during the Play-In before learning who they will face in their first game of the playoffs, starting April 19. However, their immediate mission, if they choose to accept, is to win 70 games this season, and it starts tonight, requiring absolute focus — 64 wins, with six games to go, and no room for error. Zero pressure.

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NBA 2024/25 Winner

Team Odds

Oklahoma City Thunder 2.65

Boston Celtics 3.00

Cleveland Cavaliers 6.60

Denver Nuggets 17.00

Los Angeles Lakers 18.00

Golden State Warriors 20.00

New York Knicks 30.00

Los Angeles Clippers 50.00

Minnesota Timberwolves 60.00

Indiana Pacers 100.00

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

Note: Odds are subject to change