Postseason Hoops: Betting on the NBA Playoffs

The Oklahoma City Thunder definitely has a story to tell this season. From missing the playoffs in 2021-22, losing in the Play-In in 2022-23, all the way to securing the 1st seed in the 2023-24 season as the youngest team in NBA history to do so, this gritty squad is going to be in the headlines a lot now more than ever. Some say that they are way too early to be competing for the NBA Finals, but I beg to differ. This has been the Thunder team that has led the league in multiple stat lines, and their team chemistry is off the charts – way better than the KD-Russ-Harden version of OKC that took turns. The trio of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams are ready to bring Loud City back on the big stage, and this is something you should expect to be fun now more than ever.

Make way for the best team in the NBA, they are steamrolling their path towards the NBA Finals this time around, and the Celtics are surely not messing around anymore. While it remains to be seen how the previous losses in the playoffs have shaped their mentality, it will be a challenge for the team to maintain its consistency against the same opponent for four straight games or more. The addition of Kristaps Porzingis will be finally tested in the playoffs, and how well Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will respond to doubts when it comes to their consistency on the playoff stage – which have been lingering issues throughout their campaign in the previous season. All of that will be seen as the Celtics aim to build a finishing touch in one of their best seasons in franchise history.

The defending champions are armed well with the same core – with multiple adjustments when it comes to their supporting cast. Nikola Jokic is coming off an MVP campaign, and it is safe to say that Jamal Murray has seen an impeccable upside in his efficiency this year as well. All signs point towards Denver still dominating the Western Conference, even if they didn’t secure the 1st seed in the final game of the season. There’s no denying that this team is still a threat to anyone who stands in their way, and this is why they are still going to be a promising team that everyone else will have to defeat four times to get past them.

While the New York Knicks got lucky enough to secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference, it does seem that they are making waves in the 2023-24 season to deliver a promising finish to one of their best campaigns ever. This is the first time that they have won 50 games since the 2012-13 season, and they are definitely at a tough disadvantage with Julius Randle out for the rest of the campaign. However, they are finding ways to win, and this is going to be a test of how far Jalen Brunson’s massive season will carry the Knicks to the promised land for the first time in a very long while.

The Western Conference can be tough, but this is also the time that the Los Angeles Clippers have been waiting for for many years, and it cannot be denied that they deserve to get their big break in the Playoffs. After all, the Clippers have never reached the NBA Finals since joining the NBA, and it cannot be denied that Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook are all feeling the mounting pressure coming off a successful season of building a superteam in a stacked Western Conference. With a promising chemistry and a fiery ambition to prove their worth in what seems to be forever, the Clippers deserve a chance to show that they have what it takes to win with stars hungry for a title.

The Milwaukee Bucks, for instance, are favorites to win in the NBA Finals after landing Damian Lillard and teaming him up with Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the 2022 Finals MVP will begin the first round on the bench due to his injuries, a composed Bucks under Doc Rivers’ lead will bring out the best in the team.

On the other hand, the Cleveland Cavaliers are also expected to make up for their poor performances in the 2023 NBA Playoffs, where the “lights were too bright” for the team. Still, Donovan Mitchell has upped his stats at a bigger scale, and this has been the best version of the Cavs since the LeBron Jamer era, which shows a lot of promise and how this team can make some noise on the big stage.

If wasn’t for their tough stretches of inconsistency, the Minnesota Timberwolves might as well be the best team in the Western Conference. However, the lack of a killer instinct on the squad as a whole remains an issue in their games. Sure, Anthony Edwards has seen some impressive games, but the rest of the team has to follow his lead, with both Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns needing to step it up further if they are going to win in their games.