The NBA… which begins the 2024-25 season on Tuesday night — deteriorated to be the most predictable of all major sports leagues in terms of which teams had a good shot at competing for the title or, most certainly, winning it. Not anymore. In the Western Conference, it’s wise to throw a blind dart and present a good attractive prospect to land at least one perimeter contender under the right slots.
Fewer than 12 of the West’s 15 teams expect to make the playoffs, and at least six have every reason to believe they can win the conference. In reality, four excellent teams are taking a long time to be relegated to the play-off match. Two excellent teams are taking a long time to finally end up in the lottery.
The East is a little clearer when it comes to playoff brackets, although the standings are as good as the visible 1-8. Cheap minds may refuse to know how this will play out, and if there’s one thing we already have enough of on our CBS Sports NBA team, it’s cheap minds!
Therefore, here are our predictions for how the entire regular season standings will move in both games, as well as our finals and championship predictions (You will find our prize alternatives right here.). Calls were made by CBSSports.com NBA writers Brad Botkin, James Herbert, Sam Quinn and Colin Ward-Henninger, CBS Sports NBA expert Bill Reiter and CBS Sports HQ analysts Avery Johnson and Ashley Nicole Moss.
NBA Predictions: Japanese Convention Standings
| Deny. 1 | celts | celts | celts | celts | celts | Knicks | celts | celts |
| Deny. 2 | Knicks | gentlemen | Knicks | gentlemen | Knicks | celts | Knicks | Knicks |
| Deny. 3 | gentlemen | 76ers | 76ers | Knicks | 76ers | 76ers | 76ers | 76ers |
| Deny. 4 | green bills | Knicks | green bills | 76ers | Necromancy | gentlemen | green bills | green bills |
| Deny. 5 | 76ers | green bills | pacemaker | green bills | green bills | pacemaker | gentlemen | gentlemen |
| Deny. 6 | Necromancy | Necromancy | gentlemen | pacemaker | gentlemen | green bills | pacemaker | pacemaker |
| Deny. 7 | pacemaker | pacemaker | Necromancy | Necromancy | pacemaker | Necromancy | Necromancy | Necromancy |
| Deny. 8 | Heat | Heat | Heat | Heat | Heat | Heat | Heat | Heat |
| Deny. 9 | Falcons | Falcons | Pistons | Falcons | Networks | Raptors | bullfighting | bullfighting |
| Deny. 10 | Hornets | Raptors | Falcons | bullfighting | bullfighting | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Deny. 11 | bullfighting | Pistons | Raptors | Raptors | Falcons | Hornets | Raptors | Pistons |
| Deny. 12 | Raptors | Hornets | bullfighting | Hornets | Hornets | bullfighting | Hornets | Raptors |
| Deny. 13 | Pistons | bullfighting | Hornets | Pistons | Raptors | Pistons | Pistons | Networks |
| Deny. 14 | magicians | Networks | Networks | Networks | Pistons | Networks | magicians | Hornets |
| Deny. 15 | Networks | magicians | magicians | magicians | magicians | magicians | Networks | magicians |
So that’s almost a blank sweep for the reigning champion Celtics to complete from the Deny. 1 seed in the East (once again). The Knicks and 76ers are clear as Boston’s biggest warnings about controlling the standings, and if there’s one thing everyone here can agree on, it’s that the Miami Warmth is taking for Deny. 8 in the East.
NBA Predictions: Western Convention Standings
| Deny. 1 | Thunder | Thunder | Thunder | Thunder | Thunder | Thunder | Thunder | nuggets |
| Deny. 2 | Mavericks | wolves | Mavericks | wolves | wolves | Mavericks | nuggets | Mavericks |
| Deny. 3 | wolves | suns | wolves | nuggets | Mavericks | Grizzlies | Grizzlies | Thunder |
| Deny. 4 | suns | nuggets | suns | suns | nuggets | nuggets | wolves | wolves |
| Deny. 5 | Grizzlies | Grizzlies | nuggets | Mavericks | Grizzlies | wolves | pelicans | pelicans |
| Deny. 6 | nuggets | Mavericks | rockets | pelicans | suns | pelicans | Mavericks | suns |
| Deny. 7 | warriors | warriors | pelicans | Grizzlies | Kings | suns | suns | Grizzlies |
| Deny. 8 | Kings | pelicans | warriors | rockets | Lakers | Kings | Kings | warriors |
| Deny. 9 | pelicans | rockets | Lakers | Kings | rockets | rockets | warriors | Kings |
| Deny. 10 | rockets | Kings | Grizzlies | warriors | warriors | Lakers | rockets | Lakers |
| Deny. 11 | Lakers | Lakers | Spurs | Lakers | Scissors | warriors | Lakers | rockets |
| Deny. 12 | Spurs | Scissors | Kings | Scissors | pelicans | Spurs | Spurs | Scissors |
| Deny. 13 | Scissors | Spurs | Jazz | Jazz | Spurs | Scissors | Scissors | Spurs |
| Deny. 14 | Jazz | Jazz | Scissors | Spurs | Jazz | Jazz | Jazz | Jazz |
| Deny. 15 | American | American | American | American | American | American | American | American |
Like the Celtics in the East, almost everyone here believes the Thunder will take over Deny. 1 seed in the West, like they did a season ago. However, there is much more variation within the West. We have the Nuggets finishing between first and only sixth. Between the 8 people, we now have six other possible options for who will finish third.
NBA name predictions
So that’s part of the people choosing the Celtics to win it all, with the difference of four votes between the Thunder, the Knicks and the Nuggets. In fact, we have the same number of experts picking the Thunder to win the West (six) as we pick the Celtics to win the East. But once there is a consensus between the Celtics and the Knicks or the 76ers in the Japanese Conference finals, we have five other options for who will host the Western Conference finals.
2024 NBA Championship Odds
With our experts deliberating over who will lift the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2025, what do the betting websites think? The Celtics are the favorites to win it in June and become the first back-to-back NBA champions since the Warriors won in 2017 and 2018. DraftKings lists Boston at +310 odds because the C’s see their season on Tuesday night. time against the Knicks.
The Thunder (+650) have the second-lowest odds to win it all at DraftKings sportsbook, with the Knicks (+800), Nuggets (+950), Timberwolves (+1000), 76ers (+1000) and Mavericks ( + 1000) is no longer behind.
