On April 13, regular games of the 79th NBA season ended. Basketball fans are in for an almost 2-month marathon of playoff matches. We’ve prepared a 1xBet review with up-to-date statistics, available predictions and favorable odds on the world’s best basketball league.
Who will play in the 2024-25 playoffs?
Each NBA team played 82 games in the regular season, and the standings were finalized. 6 teams automatically qualified for the playoff round in the West:
- Oklahoma City Thunder (82,9% wins).
- Houston Rockets (63,4%).
- Los Angeles Lakers (61%).
- Denver Nuggets (61%).
- Los Angeles Clippers (61%).
- Minnesota Timberwolves (59,8%).
These six will be joined by 2 more teams that successfully play in the play-in tournament. Everything will be decided in one game, so players cannot afford to make mistakes. The winner of the Golden State Warriors vs Memphis Grizzlies pairing will become the seventh seed and will face the Houston Rockets in the playoffs. The loser of this pairing will get a second chance and will compete in the play-in finals against the winner of the Sacramento Kings vs Dallas Mavericks pairing. This will determine the eighth playoff participant in the West, who will clash with Oklahoma in the Western Conference quarterfinals. The pairings that are already known are as follows:
- Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers vs Minnesota Timberwolves
The situation is similar in the East: the winner of the Orlando Magic vs Atlanta Hawks pairing will play against the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics (74,4% wins) in the quarterfinals. The loser will have another chance to qualify for the playoffs by facing the winner of the Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat pairing. The winner of the final play-in game will face the Cleveland Cavaliers (78%). Besides, 2 pairings have automatically been formed in the Eastern Conference after the regular season:
- Indiana Pacers (61%) vs Milwaukee Bucks (58,5%)
- New York Knicks (62,2%) vs Detroit Pistons (53,7%)
NBA playoffs format
The best 8 teams from each conference will form 4 pairings and play a best-of-seven series in the H-H-A-A-H-A-H format, H standing for home matches and A standing for away matches. The teams that finished higher in the regular season get easier opponents and one home game more. The conference playoffs include the quarterfinal, semifinal and final stages. After that, the champions of the West and East play the final series that can last until the second half of June.
What odds does 1xBet offer on the NBA playoffs?
The global betting company offers to bet on the NBA playoffs in the prematch and live modes, as well as to make long-term predictions. If a bettor wins the bet, the winnings will be automatically credited to their balance. This money can then be used for new bets or withdrawn using more than 250 payment methods. Can there be a 1xBet withdrawal problem? Yes, but only for those clients who violate the rules and policies of the reliable bookmaker.
2024-25 NBA: who are the favorites?
During the season, the two biggest favorites have been the same, but now Oklahoma (2.79 to win the NBA) has a slight edge over Boston (3.04). Since 2019, 6 different teams have triumphed in the NBA, and that’s a strong argument against the Celtics defending the title.
Besides, the attention of basketball fans around the world is focused on the Los Angeles Lakers, who have formed an amazing duo of LeBron James and Luka Dončić. The Lakers’ potential triumph is estimated at 12.2, which makes this team another possible favorite.
There’s also intrigue in the battle for the MVP of the season, where the main contenders are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Jayson Tatum (Boston Celtics). So far, Oklahoma’s Canadian sharpshooter has a better chance to succeed (2.76) than Boston’s small forward (3.51).